Whiskey Cocktail Hour: Monkey See, Monkey Blue

It’s been a minute since we’ve done a Scotch cocktail around here, and Monkey Shoulder is one of my favorites to mix with. Monkey Shoulder is a fantastic blended malt whisky, comprised primarily of single malts from Balvenie, Kininvie, and Glenfiddich. It’s a bartender favorite for a reason, it’s approachable, it’s reasonably priced, and it’s infinitely mixable.

When I think of monkeys, the very first thing I think of is bananas. And this whiskey has notes of banana for me. There’s also some lovely honey and orange as well that come through, so I wanted to play off of those by adding a bit of banana liqueur and some orange liqueur, by way of my favorite thing to add to a cocktail whenever possible, blue curaçao. For those that are unfamiliar with my obsession with blue curaçao, please see this summer’s Japanese whisky cocktail I made for Father’s Day.

Unlike that tiki-style drink from the summer, I wanted this one to be spirit-forward, so I chose a bit of sherry to balance out the sweet notes and I’m not at all mad about it. The resulting drink had a delicious balance of maltiness, sweetness, and light notes of citrus. It feels like a sophisticated treat and the color made it so much more fun. It requires a few things you may not have just lying around on your bar cart, but I hope you’ll enjoy this one when you need to switch things up from your normal old fashioned or manhattan routine. Cheers!

Monkey See, Monkey Blue (image via Emily Ross-Johnson/The Whiskey Wash)

Monkey See, Monkey Blue

• 1 1/2 oz Monkey Shoulder
• 1/2 oz Giffard Banane du Bresil
• 1/4 oz Giffard Blue Curaçao
• 1/4 oz Lustau Amontillado Los Arcos Sherry
• Orange Peel for garnish

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice. Stir for 30 seconds. Strain into a cocktail glass. Express orange peel over drink and toss it in, discard it, or make a pretty banana one like I did.