Smokey Monkey Shoulder

The second blended release for the William Grant & Sons Monkey Shoulder line, this version is the smokey brother of the original and is apparently “built for mixing”. See my review on Monkey Shoulder here.

Experience

Who do bartenders call when they want a smokey kick in their cocktails? Monkey Shoulder with their peated blend the Smokey Monkey.

With all the praise Monkey Shoulder gets as a entry-level into sipping whisky it is a shame their website and marketing is solely focused on mixing and cocktails. With the name of Smokey Monkey it always makes me think of Lionel Hutz from the Simpsons…

Nose

You can tell it is Monkey Shoulder with the sweet orange, malty funk with the added smoke floating throughout. It is a pleasant nose with highland peat which is less medicinal than a Islay like Ardbeg or Lagavulin.

via GIPHY

Taste

The first sip hits you with pleasant but thin peat almost like a watered down “Balvenie Week of Peat” (which it may contain as they are part of the same company). After a couple of sips all the smoke subsides and you are left with a slightly Marmite, yeasty after taste.

Value for Money

This could be a good way to dip the toe into the world of peat and at £30 a bottle it is not a bad price for a good looking bottle. You can pick it up at £28.94 from Master of Malt, £30 from The Whisky Exchange and best yet Waitrose for £26!