Named after a once common injury among distillery workers of yore, whose ceaseless hours of hand-turning malt with a wooden shovel meant it felt at the end of the day as if there were a monkey on their shoulder, the stuff has been around for more than five years in London, where it's been embraced as both a mixer in cocktails and served on the rocks.

Monkey Shoulder, is a blend of some of the finest single malts in Scotland's Speyside region, known for incredibly soft, smooth and sweet whiskies. Among the potential breeders are household-name distilleries such as Glenfiddich and The Balvenie, but we'll never know for sure if those are in the makeup of a given bottle. Especially for a blended scotch, balance is much more important than brands, says Brian Kinsman, master blender at Scotland's William Grant & Sons.
— Distiller's notes