The texture is light as expected, but not evanescent. The mineral/vegetal vein also grows, with malt, vanilla and honey relegated to the background. The same evocations can be found on the palate, although with less vigour, with nuts and spices (to which black pepper and ginger are added) tending to take over, leaving the fruit in the background, expressed more in the citrus notes. Nuts (almonds, walnuts), honey and nutmeg form the backdrop, all traversed by a bright malt note, tending towards yeasty bread. On the nose, the speysider nature is clearly evident, with flowers and fruit emerging from the glass in a fruit salad of peach, apricot, apple, pear, heather, hyacinth and a drop of grapefruit. There is also a peated version, which will pass through these pages sooner or later. The vocation is mixology, so it’s not a product designed for straight drinking, but it’s still interesting to know what goes into a cocktail. The name is inspired by the hunchbacking to which the malting workers were subjected, who had to constantly bend their backs to turn the barley on the floor.ĭon’t be mislead by the wording on the label ‘batch 27’, as it doesn’t indicate the increasing batch numbering but refers to the use of twenty-seven casks to create the blended in its initial recipe. You can get a full sample set from The Whisky Exchange.Every now and then it’s pleasant (as well as educational) to take a break from more or less important bottlings to sample ‘mass’ products, returning to the roots of this blog whose intent has always been to offer a sort of library dedicated to all whiskies, from the most emblazoned to the most common.Īpproaching a blended malt (therefore made from single malts only) born in 2003 on behalf of William Grant & Sons, created by Brian Kinsman initially with whiskies from Balvenie, Glenfiddich and Kininvie, while today it’s declared as a generic vatting of Speyside scotch, in first-fill ex-Bourbon casks. Of course the price is low so it’s a decent entry point for the world of whisky. Not a bad dram, although it doesn’t show the same degree of maltiness and flavour complexity as the blended malts from Compass Box or Douglas Laing for instance. More oak spice, minty herbs and assorted nuts, apple peelings and plenty of gingery notes.įinish: quite short, sweet and grainy, with more nuts and oranges. Mouth: same profile of aromatic wood (slightly oriental in a way), now matched to hints of nougat, oranges and lemon peels, a malty core and vanilla sweetness. Not a lot of fruitiness, it’s really kept together by some obvious pencil shavings and fresh wood. Also yellow apples and vanilla, a bit of breakfast cereals and honey. Nose: rather sweet and floral, with crisp orange peel and hints of ale. Monkey Shoulder – The Original – Batch 27 (40%, OB +/- 2021) Mind that it says Batch 27 but it’s not actually released in distinct batches, it merely refers to the fact that the original recipe was composed of 27 casks. In recent years The Original was added to the label because there’s also a smoky version. It is blend of three Speyside whiskies: Glenfiddich, Balvenie and Kininvie single malts (and occasionally other distilleries, or so I’ve heard), always matured in first-fill American oak casks for extra sweetness. Monkey Shoulder was launched in 2005 to appeal to a new audience, specifically people who like the sweet, spicy style of American whiskey. This is underscored by a nice looking metal ornament on the shoulder of the bottle, depicting three monkeys. ![]() The name is taken from a repetitive strain injury that distillery workers would develop after years of shoveling barley on the malting floor. Monkey Shoulder is a blended malt created by WM Grant, the famous company behind Glenfiddich and others (as well as Hendricks gin for instance).
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