Malt & grain
Vanilla & caramel
Honey
Warm spice

Everyday Low

Monkey Shoulder

Name: Monkey Shoulder 700ml
SKU: 102321
Price: 74.99 NZD
Availability: InStock

Whisky · Scotland · 700ml · 40%

$74.99each

What it tastes like

A blended malt Scotch whisky with rich malt character, vanilla, honey and subtle spice. Smooth and versatile.

Malt & grain
Vanilla & caramel
Honey
Warm spice

Additional information

Whisky
Style: Scotland
Origin: 700ml
Size: 40% ABV
Alcohol: 2.2 per bottle
Standard drinks

The story of Monkey Shoulder

Monkey Shoulder is a blended malt Scotch whisky made by William Grant & Sons, blended and bottled on its estate at the edge of Dufftown in Speyside. Blended malt means it is a vatting of malt whiskies from more than one distillery, rather than a single malt or a malt and grain blend.

It began as a vatted blend of three William Grant malts, Balvenie, Glenfiddich and Kininvie, and the three monkeys on the shoulder of the bottle stand for them. The recipe today is kept private. The whiskies are matured in first-fill ex-bourbon casks, then married in small batches for up to six months before bottling at 40 per cent. The name comes from the maltmen who turned barley by hand and ended up with one arm hanging lower than the other, a complaint they called monkey shoulder.

In the glass it is honey, vanilla and biscuity malt with orange marmalade, ginger and a little cinnamon and oak. It was made to be approachable and to mix well. The brand's own Old Fashioned uses two parts whisky to a splash of sugar syrup and two dashes of Angostura bitters over ice, and it also works topped with ginger beer.