Whisky Review: Monkey Shoulder

Monkey Shoulder is named after the condition the distillery workers get from turning barley during the malting process. I guess the thought is that naming a whisky after a painful, chronic ailment is a good thing. This whisky is a blended malt Scotch whisky, meaning it's a mixture of various single malt whiskies. In this particular case, it's malt whiskies from the three Speyside malt distilleries owned by William Grant & Sons: Balvenie, Glenfiddich, and Kininvie.

I picked up a bottle after a bartender - sorry, mixologist - acquaintance said it is the #1 whisky he would recommend to someone new to whisky. He said it was very smooth. Let's see...

Monkey Shoulder Batch 27, 43% ABV

Blended Malt Scotch Whisky

Price range, 750 mL: $25-35

Nose: Honey, vanilla, and bright fruits.

Palate: Honey, vanilla, and bright fruits with a malty backbone.

Finish: Wood turning into some char; a bit harsh. Not really in keeping with the nose and palate, and turning into a not-so-nice experience after a while.

Rating (of 100): 80. Can't say this is a great introduction dram for the uninitiated, or even for the very-much-initiated. Probably best as a mixer, which is what I understand it's mainly used for anyway.

Whisky review: Balvenie 17 Peated Cask

The Balvenie Distillery is located in Dufftown in the heart of Speyside, Scotland, right next door to Glenfiddich - both distilleries are owned by William Grant & Sons and both go into the company's Grant's blend. Balvenie's distinguishing characteristic is that it has its own on-site cooperage (where casks are made and conditioned), coppersmith (for maintaining the stills), and floor maltings (for malting barley). Of course, having all these things doesn't mean your whisky is any better than anyone else's, but it's good for marketing.

It's also good for a distillery tour, if you ever get the chance to go. I highly recommend it. If you're also a fan of Balvenie, you can join their "Warehouse 24" group and get your own tasting book plus some other perks.

The whisky in the Balvenie 17 Peated Cask has been partly matured in new American oak casks and partly matured in casks that previously held an experimental Balvenie peated whisky. I'm interested in knowing if they'll ever release the actual peated whisky that was held in those casks. My guess is that they will, knowing how many mouths are calling for more peated whisky nowadays.

Balvenie 17 Peated Cask, 43% ABV
Single malt Scotch whisky (Speyside)

Appearance: Light orange-yellow.

Nose: That typical Balvenie honeyed nose with a hint of earthiness.

Palate: Earth and bitter dark chocolate enveloping honey, vanilla, light fruit, and spices.

Finish: More peat and some wood with a nearly-cloying sweetness. A funky taste lingers.

Overall (of 100): 82. I don't feel like the two contrasting flavors - peat and honey - really go together too well. I've tried very hard to love this whisky because I really like Balvenie in general and this particular whisky is very unique and not cheap...but it just ain't happenin'.

Peat and Smoke Scotch Whisky Tasting

Just did our first-ever "peat and smoke" Scotch whisky tasting through the MIT Club of Boston - I had a great time! Here's a list of the whiskies we sampled:

• Amrut Fusion - distilled in Bangalore, India from 25% peated Scottish malt and 75% unpeated Indian malt, this whisky was rated #3 in the world in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible 2010
• Balvenie 17 Peated Cask - a new and limited release from this versatile Speyside distillery
• Longrow CV - the heavily-peated offering from the Springbank distillery in Campbeltown
• Compass Box Peat Monster - the peaty offering from this pioneering whisky blending firm
• Ardbeg Uigeadail - a peaty whisky aged in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, giving it great fruity undertones
  
• Caol Ila 1978 25 Year - a very complex whisky also aged in a mix of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks; this scotch is now very hard to find
• Bruichladdich Octomore 2.1 - currently, the peatiest whisky in the world, with 140 ppm phenols (most peated whiskies are about 40 ppm)...though I understand they're making an Octomore 3 at 152 ppm
  

I think the motto for the night was "Smoking's bad for your health...so why not just drink it instead?" Well, in reality, we worked up from mildly peaty to extremely peaty, because after drinking the Octomore, most anything else tastes like water. Really lame water.