Monkey Shoulder Blended Scotch Whisky

ABC - $39.99 

TW - $27.99

Class VI - $36.09

ABV - 43%

NAS

Mashbill - 100% Malted Barley

Monkey Shoulder

5 Aug 25

From the VA ABC - “Monkey Shoulder has an aroma of zesty orange and mellow vanilla and a flavor of honey and spiced oak. Whatever you make of Monkey Shoulder, it’s amazing on the rocks or in any Monkey Shoulder mixed drink.”

Monkey Shoulder is very popular among Scotch drinkers and usually in the top-five of most enjoyed Scotches.  But, that’s an odd name.  Where’d they get it?  The name refers to a repetitive strain injury that distillery workers were once commonly afflicted with after long shifts of turning malt by hand.  After the barley is soaked in water for a length of time, it’s spread out over the floor of a room built specifically to allow the grains to grow.  To ensure each grain had access to enough air to germinate, workers would use special shovels to turn the barley over.  That repetitive motion would cause one shoulder and arm to hang lower than the other, hence:  “Monkey Shoulder”.  Now they have machines to turn the barley.  I tried to find pictures of men with the condition but every time I searched for images, I just got pictures of the Scotch.  So, you’ll just have to use your imagination. 

The Monkey Shoulder Whisky is produced by the William Grant and Sons company.  Established in 1887.  William Grant and Sons is the third-largest producer of Scotch whisky and still family owned.  It has a formidable stable of Scotches and other alcoholic beverages including single malts Glenfiddich and Balvenie.  They even own Drambuie, Irish whiskey, Tullamore D.E.W., and blended Scotch whisky, Famous Grouse.  For a solid blended, mid-shelf table Scotch, you can’t go wrong with Famous Grouse.

So, Monkey Shoulder is a blended malt whisky (formerly called "vatted malt whisky") which means it’s not technically a single malt whisky because it gets its various whiskies from different distilleries.  However it contains only single malt Scotches.  Blended Scotches can contain grain whisky.  A grain whisky is any whisky made, at least in part, from grains other than malted barley. Frequently used grains include maize, wheat, and rye.  They’re a base distillate with a comparative lightness of the clearer, more-neutral-flavoured grain whisky is used in blends to smooth out the often harsher characteristics of single malts and single pot still whiskeys.  I was confused by the Monkey Shoulder website and their label.  Again, we have another example of why it’s important to understand what’s on the label - distilleries will try to pull the wool over your eyes.  Their website says they are ‘100% Malt Whisky’ and the bottle says that it’s a ‘Blended Malt Scotch Whisky’.  It’s fully a blend of only single malts, and no neutral grain spirits are added.  

 And for forty bucks or less, you can’t go wrong.  I highly recommend a dram of this delicious whisky.  They boast that it’s made for mixing.  I don’t really care for Scotch-based cocktails.  I tried the Ginger Monkey cocktail listed here and still didn’t like it.  I enjoy my Monkey Shoulder neat and think you will too.  చీర్స్!

/AI was not used in the creation of this post/

Cocktail

The Ginger Monkey

Ingredients

1 1/2 parts Monkey Shoulder

3/4 parts Ginger Ale

1 Dash angostura bitters

1 Orange Wedge

Method

• Fill a long glass with ice

• Pour in Monkey Shoulder and dry ginger ale.

• Gently stir and garnish with the orange wedge.