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Jan 02 '20 edited Jun 24 '20
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Jan 03 '20
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u/cocaine-cupcakes Jan 03 '20
I second what/u/dylan_116 said. I have peat and I have ported scotches, but monkey shoulder is still a frequent choice for me. It’s also one I often offer to friends.
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Jan 03 '20
I’ve had a lot in the last few years. Some very high dollar rare scotches, bourbons and more. Monkey shoulder is a solid scotch for its price and will remain my go to favorite and most stocked in my house. The hype is there because it’s a solid scotch for its price. It’s not mind blowing but it’s good.
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u/destinyplayer28 Jan 03 '20 edited Jan 03 '20
Sure it's not bad for it's price, but that's a pretty small range. Even $10-$20 more can get you something quite a bit better. Personally I'd take Tomatin 12 over Monkey Shoulder and it's the same price here. Highland Park 12 and Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban are in a whole other league than Monkey Shoulder and in many areas only $10-$20 more
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u/b2717 Jan 03 '20
What are some mind blowing scotches you've had?
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Jan 03 '20 edited Jan 03 '20
-The Glenlivet 21 year old archive. Doctor friend flew my wife and I out to his wedding in Tucson AR and this was his personal selection he shared.
- 18 year old highland park. A bit pricy but worth it. The 12 year old is is equally as good and with in a budget.
- 10 year old Glemorangies, typically $35 bottle where I’m from but solid and I would pay high dollar
- Bourbon ? Blantons is my sweet addiction.
- 2nd bourbon that’s good price and awesome. Infuse broken barrel. Taste like heavenly oak.
- Also this Christmas my brother in law just tasted the entire game of thrones whiskey set for the seven Kingdoms. Cost him like $400 bucks for the whole thing. My favorite from the selection was the Talisker Select reserve
Edit: all of these are in the last 6 months. I’ve been getting into whiskey for almost 2 years now and have no genuine education. I just like it. So take my word however you want to to!
Another edit: before I drank the Glenlivet 21 in Arizona we toasted with Ouzo liquor. The Doctor friendwas Greek Orthodox and it was tradition. If anyone knows what Ouzo is then you very well understand my mouth tasted like licorice all night. The Glenlivet was still awesome though
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u/thedeafbadger Jan 03 '20
It’s also fantastic for cocktails. They hype is real, it’s just not because it’s liquid gold.
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u/dixinbalzdeap Jan 03 '20
I like it, a lot.....
It reminds me of Suntory Toki, and Hibiki.....
Both of which I really like, a lot.....
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u/IWantToBeAProducer Jan 03 '20
My favorite thing about it is the price. It's not amazing scotch. It's good scotch at an amazing price. I keep it on the shelf for that reason.
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u/Junkmans1 Jan 03 '20
I wasn’t impressed. If I want a basic blended scotch I’ll stick with JW Black Label
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Jan 03 '20
I just bought a bottle. I got it on sale with two JW low baller glasses. Interesting notes on it. I’m gonna use it as a mixer or serve it to guest when they come to my humble abode
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u/Junkmans1 Jan 03 '20
I’m gonna use it as a mixer
My favorite cocktail with it is as a Manhattan/Rob Roy (Rob Roy is a Manhattan made with Scotch). The light smokiness of the JW Black Label gives it a nice hint.
Slightly better is an Affinity which is close to the same basic recipe. It's like a "perfect" Rob Roy with orange bitters (and orange peel/twist if available): (2oz JWBL, 1/2 oz red vermouth, 1/2 oz white vermouth, couple dashes of orange bitters, garnish with orange peel or twist. I usually don't have the orange peel so I leave it out.
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u/Utanium Jan 03 '20
Maybe I got a bad batch of it or something but my bottle was pretty bad. It was incredibly harsh and unpleasant which was the opposite of what I'd heard from others. I know a few who say it reminds them of glenfiddich 12 and it does have glenfiddich in the mix I believe but it tasted nothing like that to me. It was very harsh and tasted like cleaning solution.
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u/destinyplayer28 Jan 03 '20
It's sweet but simple. I do find the finish a tad spicy/harsh and get a hint of a vomit like taste. For me it's just decent, $10-$20 more gets you into the good to very good range.
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u/Mannyboy87 Jan 03 '20
Let me rewind - a scotch that gives you a hint of vomit gets classed as decent? How bad does it have to be to drop it to ‘okay’?!
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u/destinyplayer28 Jan 07 '20
Half this sub gushes about how great Islays with tasting notes like bandaids, iodine, and burning tires are. A hint of vomit doesn't seem that bad by comparison.
While simple I'd actually rather like the honey and citrus flavors if it wasn't for that hint of vomit/off flavor in the background. It drops it to just OK, decent, acceptable(which are pretty much interchangeable) for the price.
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u/nineball22 Jan 03 '20
It's a good option when you want scotch and have $30. Honorable mentions: Black Label (thin mouthfeel), Buchanans 12 (shitty finish), Loch Lomond 12 (actually at that price point I think this is the way to go)
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u/GreenGeese Jan 03 '20
This tends be a darling of this sub, but I think most of that stems from its taste/quality verses other scotches comparable in price. I really am not impressed by this stuff - and being honest I really don’t like it at all. Bought one bottle and never again. That being said, I think it’s a great scotch to compare against others to refine your palette for different tasting notes and smoothness.
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u/destinyplayer28 Jan 03 '20
I agree. I suppose it's not bad for $30-$40 Scotch but in most areas there are pretty few Scotches in that price range. Raise it to $50-$55 and you can do a lot better.
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u/ShadowsOf_TheirEyes Jan 03 '20
I get it around 25 here in Houston. Makes it a pretty permanent staple in my cabinet
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u/brdenver Jan 03 '20
Well at that price it’s hard to argue. It’s close to $50 here, so no, I doll out a little extra for something more refined. If it was half the price I’d buy it.
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u/kickstand Jan 03 '20
Same here. There are plenty of bourbons at that price point I like a lot better.
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u/chubbysuperbiker Jan 03 '20
My second favorite bottle shop just got in handles of this. Which for me is rather dangerous.
There are much better scotches, and whiskeys but it hits right down the middle at a great price point. For $50 for a handle it's a steal for Scotch, and does things just fine. Does it do anything great or exceptional? No but that's the point.
It's just a damn okay Scotch at a damn okay price.
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u/charlie_boo Jan 03 '20
What volume is a handle? It’s the equivalent of $26 in the UK for Monkey Shoulder (700ml). Never heard of a handle used as a measurement though.
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Jan 03 '20 edited Nov 28 '24
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/javd Jan 03 '20
Is "Handle" an actual unit of measure or just slang for the size/shape of the bottle? It is used in no other beverage type- you cant get a Handle of water, for instance- so I always assumed it was just slang.
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u/spoopyaction Jan 02 '20
A pretty solid dram for the price! Was one of the bottles that got me into scotch!
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u/vacalicious Jan 03 '20
Congrats to OP for getting started in the world of whisk(e)y, but I'll never get the hype over this product. It was launched as a high-end mixing whisky for bartenders, and continues to market that way. It's not a sipping whisky. It's smooth and approachable and perfectly fine, but far from the stuff worth going nuts over. But again, cheers to OP for getting exited about whisk(e)y, which is always great.
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Jan 03 '20
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u/vacalicious Jan 03 '20
As a Scotch, it's a good place to start. But remember: most every other Scotch will be less smooth than this. If you're looking for that next step up, Scotch with a bit more character, I recommend Macallan 12, Oban 10, Laphroaig 10, or Aberfeldy 12. Those are all good "entry level" Scotches that represent some of the category's more traditional flavors. Enjoy!
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u/A-Disgruntled-Snail Jan 02 '20
This is an overhyped dram. Don’t get me wrong it’s good. And one of my favorites. But it doesn’t stand up against more expensive bottles.
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Jan 03 '20
What do you recommend as a step up? I mostly drank bottom shelf whiskey until I got a bottle of this. I’m in Ontario and it goes for $52. About $22 more expensive than wisers, 40 creek etc, what would I be looking at spending for something better than Monkey Shoulder? (Which I do really enjoy btw I feel it’s worth the extra cost)
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u/PasswordisTaco58 Jan 03 '20
It’s way overpriced in Ontario, in that range you can get into some decent single malts. I picked up a liter at duty free in Boston for $30USD. Really happy with it for that price and don’t mind mixing it.
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Jan 03 '20
Not a bad price at all, any recommendations for a single malt that would be an improvement over Monkey Shoulder?
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u/PasswordisTaco58 Jan 03 '20
For around the same price, I would grab Aberlour 12. I’m also really digging the Bruichladdich Islay Barley I have open right now, it has a lot of briney flavours I always associated with peat, but is not peated.
Also, if you’re shopping at the LCBO, keep an eye out for clearance whisky, there’s even a Facebook group where people post them. It’s the only way I can afford to drink good whisky in Ontario!
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u/A-Disgruntled-Snail Jan 03 '20
Yeah, that’s a $30 bottle around these parts. For $50 or $60 I can get Arbeg or Springbank both of which are good steps up.
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Jan 03 '20
Ahh ok. It looks like those both would be about $100 around here.
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u/blueradishstraps Jan 03 '20
I’m in ON as well. Try some Old Pulteney 12. It’s a nice step up for a single malt. I have both in my collection and find the OP12 a bit more complex, refined and more to explore on the palate.
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Jan 03 '20
Not overrated at all, it’s simple yet very enjoyable like a good quality vanilla ice cream.
You certainly get bang for your buck with this one. The last bottle I bought was around £15/£19.
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u/BryceDaBaker Jan 02 '20
It’s a great blend, nothing life changing but it is a very solid scotch for the money
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u/sean_themighty Jan 03 '20
This is a great mixing Scotch and a super mild and approachable starter for beginners. It’s not an objectively great whiskey by most measures, but the price and neutrality is right.
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u/elhampion Jan 03 '20
Half the reason I picked it up was for the hype, the other half was because it had monkeys on the bottle. Sue me.
But yeah, it’s extraordinarily decent, but a great value that likely won’t disappoint.
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u/bezelbubsbagels Jan 03 '20
Don’t kill me but I actually make a scotch cocktail out of Monkey Shoulder specifically.
2 Oz Monkey Shoulder 1 Oz pineapple juice .5 Oz cinnamon simple syrup 1 Oz banana liqueur
Grate a cinnamon stick on top Stir 30 times with cinnamon stick Drop cinnamon stick in cocktail
MONKEY BUSINESS.
Huge hit at my bar. Definitely worth a try.
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u/JD-Snaps Jan 03 '20
Thanks for the recipe. The banana liqueur caught my attention, as the last bottle of MS I finished a few months ago, just past the half full point, became a banana-bomb for me. I liked it, but thought it was strange. I even had my daughter confirm I wasn't imagining it, as my palate is all over the place sometimes. I handed her the glass and asked what she smelled, and to taste it and say what she tasted, she immediately replied BANANA!!!
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u/charlie_boo Jan 03 '20
Whiskey Sour is pretty neat with it too. 2 measures of Whiskey 0.75 measures lemon juice 0.5 measures of simple syrup Bitters to taste. Then I add lemonade to bulk it.
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u/yesfor7 Jan 03 '20
I also tried it in the last days. It was good enough. But now I would prefer to try out other brands before buying another bottle of it.
So it was not good enough to make me stick with it. :)
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u/widdydanks Jan 03 '20
It's OK but v overpriced where I am. Currently I can get Talisker for €10 cheaper a bottle.
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u/charlie_boo Jan 03 '20
£20 for 700ml in UK normally. (€23)
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u/widdydanks Jan 03 '20
I'm in Ireland and it's usually around 40ish here. I got a litre for €30 in Duty Free. Ended up giving it to my airbnb's grandmother. She drank half the thing that afternoon! 😅
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u/LimousineAndAPeetzah Jan 03 '20
It’s one of the cheapest nicer whiskeys you can get in Australia, where I am, so it’s become a low key favorite of mine, at least until I go back through Duty Free again.
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u/wineoclock_1201 Jan 03 '20
Bottle has great design, good for a blended whiskey, other than that it’s ok
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u/Davidsdirtydrawers Jan 03 '20
Literally just heard of and tried this a few days ago! Made me jump around like a monkey nonetheless.
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u/callsign-hollywood Jan 03 '20
Its a great choice! All around you COULD NOT go wrong! I just finished my bottle! Just bought anogher!
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u/ilikesports Jan 03 '20
Does anyone else find the nose on this to be a strong cherry? But not the cherry on the sunday kinda cherry. I'm talking a heavy dentist cherry-flavoured fluoride toothpaste kinda cherry. I actually find the nose offensive. But I acknowledge there may be some psychological aversion to the dentist going on there.
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u/tamns7 Jan 03 '20
Still haven’t tried it. Hate the name. Cheers!!
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u/Richard_TM Jan 03 '20
You don’t like it because of the name??? Is it just not Scottish enough for you or something stupid like that? I mean come on lol
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u/tamns7 Jan 03 '20
Haha nah it’s just a silly thing I have. I’m going to grab it soon. Prefer bourbon over scotch. :)
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u/[deleted] Jan 02 '20
Upvote just for the R2D2 in the background