Well this is good news to those of us Yanks who have been sneaking Monkey Shoulder into the US for the last few years. Now we can buy it legally here, starting in Illinois. Monkey Shoulder has been a big fave with the BUMS since it was first concocted and released by William Grant and Sons in 2006. Every few months we put in an order from the UK to have bottles shipped here to Missouri to slake the BUMS thirst for things monkey.

Monkey Shoulder is a combination of Balvenie, Glenfiddich and Kininvie single malts, classifying it as a Blended Malt Whisky. Not to be confused with Blended Scotch Whisky which is a combination of single malts and grain whisky. Usually in a percentage of 60 or 70 percent grain whisky to 40 or 30 percent of single malts.

“Monkey Shoulder is a new style of Scotch whisky—one rooted in heritage and tradition but firmly grounded in the contemporary world. Connoisseurs appreciate that Monkey Shoulder is a new style of Speyside whisky from a known world class distiller, while whisky newcomers are drawn to the mixability of the quality liquid and the irreverent and cheeky personality Monkey Shoulder presents to the category,” said Cindy Wang, Senior Brand Manager, Monkey Shoulder.

This isn’t the first blended malt whisky to aim its marketing at younger drinkers, with an effort to steer away from the stuffy men’s club atmosphere of Scotch drinking and advertising. In 2002 a new line of whiskies was conceived.  Jon,  Mark and Robbo’s Easy Drinking Whisky  was the brand name and it hit the whisky world with a bit of a slap in the face of traditional marketing that emphasized ancient pedigrees and years of aging by naming their whiskies: The Smokey Peaty One, The Rich Spicy One and The Smooth Sweeter One. But, slowly interest in this line faded away as did any marketing effort. Was it too glib in its approach? Not sure, but they were decent bottlings, well priced.

Back to the Monkey: ‘Monkey Shoulder’ is a term used by the men who used to turn the malted barley on malting floors in the old days using a primitive wooden shovel called a shiel. The name describes the repetitive injury their shoulders used to sustain. Today most barley is malted in huge malting houses and is turned mechanically.

Monkey Shoulder is described by its makers as having a “sweet and rich vanilla flavor, with brown sugar and creamy toffee notes balanced with oak and just a hint of spice.” Monkey Shoulder won a Gold award at the 2011 International Wine and Spirit competition, a Master distinction in the Speyside Blended Malt category at the 2011 Scotch Whisky Masters an a Gold award in the 2011 International Spirits Challenge.

Jim Murray rated Monkey Shoulder 93 in the 2006 Whisky Bible. Monkey Shoulder showed up as a bonus bottle at a BUMS tasting in May 2008 where it was unofficially rated at 90-95.

“Having caught the eye of the world’s leading bartenders, it’s high time my talented and influential friends in the U.S. have the opportunity to obtain and appreciate a bottle of Monkey Shoulder without a trip to London,” said Dean Callan, global brand ambassador, Monkey Shoulder.

Monkey Shoulder became available in the Chicagoland area starting January 6th in bars and select liquor stores, and will be rolling out in Texas later in 2012. You can find it at Binny’s on-line or in person at a nice price. Cheers!

Monkey Manhattan Preparation