Monkey Shoulder The Original (70cl, 40%)

Monkey Shoulder The Original is a blended malt of Speyside single malts, with no grain whisky in the blend. William Grant & Sons marries the malts in small batches, having matured them in first-fill bourbon casks, and bottles it at 40%. It was added to the range in 2005 and was designed with whisky cocktails in mind, though it can also be drunk neat. The name recalls the malt men who turned germinating barley by hand and could suffer sore shoulders from the work. Fresh orange peel and soft vanilla meet sweet malt and a little honey on the nose. The palate is soft and creamy, with caramel and gentle spice, and the finish carries malt, barley sugar and a touch of jam.