“Monkey Shoulder”, the blended malt scotch whisky with an amusing name, has finally launched in Malaysia. In terms of taste, it is a free-spirited, fun-loving blended malt with an easygoing smooth, rich and mellow vanilla deliciousness.
In terms of history and character, well, who better to school us than Zachary Connor de Git, Monkey Shoulder’s Regional Brand Ambassador?
We spoke to Zachary Connor de Git about Monkey Shoulder prior to the launch real quick over a round of speed Jenga and some drinks.
Here’s what went down:
So tell us, what makes Monkey Shoulder different from other whiskeys?
Monkey Shoulder is a blended malt scotch whisky. There are many different styles of scotch whiskies throughout the world, the most common being blended whiskies and single malts. Monkey Shoulder itself is a blend of 3 different Speyside single malts. The 3 different Speyside single malts come together to create a very unique profile and that is Monkey Shoulder.
In terms of distillation process, what sets Monkey Shoulder apart?
The distillation process that Monkey Shoulder goes through is actually exactly the same as the single malt. It comes from 100% malted barley, some of the barley we actually grow at one of our distilleries. It’s very different from what is a grain whisky. Grain whiskies are typically lighter in flavour and is the second component to what we call a blended whisky.
How would you best position Monkey Shoulder as a brand?
It is a premium product so I’d position it as a premium malt whiskey but successfully designed to be used in cocktails. The idea of Monkey Shoulder was to change the assumptions which surrounded the single malt category.
What kind of cocktails would you make with Monkey Shoulder?
Monkey Shoulder goes great with almost anything because it’s very versatile so you can have anything that’s light and refreshing. You could also make a Whisky Dry cocktail or all the way through to something like Old Fashioned which is a more robust and spirit-driven cocktail. It also makes a great Whisky Sour.
What/which kind of crowd would Monkey Shoulder appeal to?
I don’t think it should be narrowed down to an age group, to be honest, I think it’s for anyone who wants to try out whisky in another manner which is not drinking it neat or on ice. It can be quite daunting to try whisky neat for the first time. There are a lot of flavours in malt whisky so the fun part about Monkey Shoulder is that you get the full flavour of malt but you can have it with Coca-Cola, you can have it in a cocktail, and that way..it can introduce you to drinking whisky but slowly.
Thanks Zac, for the chat!
Monkey Shoulder is now available in Malaysia, bottled at 40% ABV and priced on average of RM280 per bottle.
You may (or may not) find it hiding in major hypermarkets and selected cocktail specialty bars such as Omakase + Appreciate, Souled Out, W.I.P, HYDE at 53M, Healy Macâs Irish Bar & Restaurant, Splash.
For more information, visit its official website.
