RLDN106
Monkey Shoulder Blended Malt
Blended Malt — Speyside, Scotland
Reviewed
May 12, 2020 (edited June 23, 2020)
Color: Burnished Gold/Deep Copper, a couple slow legs - mostly watery
Nose: Butterscotch, vanilla, and citrus, with hints of cloves and spice. A very light, sweet, and fruity nose.
Palate: There’s an initial burst of that same sweet fruit and butterscotch from the nose, with a watery mouthfeel. This is followed by some zing from the citrus and a light nougat note.
Finish: A slightly bitter bite from the cloves and baking spices gives way to a mild nutty note that lingers momentarily.
Overall: Monkey Shoulder, while limited, seems to be a solid budget Scotch. It won’t wow you with what’s in the bottle, but for ~$30 you could do a lot worse. Will be using this in cocktails or for sipping when I don’t feel like wasting any Oban or Glenmorangie.
(5/12/20)
33.0
USD
per
Bottle
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@WhiskeyLonghorn that sounds delicious, I’ll need to try it!
@RLDN106 it’s good with dry ginger beer, but my favorite thing to make with this is a Penicillin. Top it off with a little Ardbeg 10 and it’s magic time!
@1901 that all makes sense! It’s something I’ll probably keep around with cocktails in mind (or for a quick sweet fix)
Nice review. Apparently it was created to try and tempt bourbon drinkers into Scotch and their website additionally states that it is a blended malt made for mixing. So while it may not be a powerhouse whiskey, if it ticks those boxes it’s doing something right.
@WhiskeyLonghorn what do you recommend making with it? I could see it in an old fashioned, or with ginger ale.
@RLDN106 this is true, but it makes tasty cocktails!
@Jos-Mass-Espinel Agreed, but I see why it’s recommend as an entry level Scotch: it’s inoffensive and cheap. For anyone with experience though, there isn’t much there.
this one is getting way too popular. it is a good dram, for a good price, but sometimes i feel it is nothing special.