Starter Scotch BETTER than Monkey Shoulder!

All good options…. I’ve drunk Scotch since 2010, 13 years and never tried Monkey Shoulder until last Christmas, I thought it was marketing hype and average corporate scotch, I was surprised and wrong, very fruity and good, similar to compass box, but not quite as good, 90% though, cheers🎉

I drink JW black on vacation. But monkey shoulder being a blended single malt whisky is a hitter. And sherry and port is always the way to go with scotch!! Enjoy!!

JW costs half the price of Monkey Shoulder

Great into to the different blends! I have tried all but two!

Спасибо 🤝

I found some Glenmorangie 10 on clearance. Definitely a nice change of pace, but not a big enough difference to justify the cost over MS.

i thought Dewars have always doubled aged

Glenfarclas 12 is also a great starting point.

I learned a lot! THANK YOU!

I started with Glenfiddich 12. Still remember that bottle lol

"Better than Monkey shoulder!", or different from 😎
You did a good job with a variety of facets of whisky, and I think beginners should try them all.
Your only fault is that you mentioned Monkey Shoulder without describing it. (Sipping a wee right now.)

Glenmorangie 10 versus Glenmorangie 12. Which is better?

Classic Laddie is the best whisky on the list, but may be a bit much for most just starting to drink Scotch whisky.

Hate Black Label. I haven't tried Monkey Shoulder but being a blended malt (no grain) I would be surprised if it wasn't miles better than the Johnny Black.

Excellent content for rookies like me. I’m starting out with Dewar’s White Label, which I really like.

My entry, after sampling my first 'single malt' at Strathmill Distillery in Keith, Scotland, was to decide on Speysides and, specifically, on Glenfiddich 12. I kept it in my cabinet for years before sliding into Glenfiddich 15 Solera, which graced my cabinet as my go-to for decades. That prompted tasting amongst the sherried Scotches. Then, I visited the Orkneys and fell in with Highland Park and the 'lilting peatiness' of their Einar. That has set off a Quest to find an equivalent among those available at state outlets....and the entry level HP offerings don't pack it. I'm currently awaiting a special order of Benromach 10 as a test. Johnnie Walker Black is my baseline comparison that most folks I know have tasted before. Most brand flagships blends sell for significantly lower prices than any single malt. Chivas Regal is cheap.

Now I have to try GlenGrant 12 lol
Famous Grouse Naked Malt (Naked Grouse) is also a super approachable intro Scotch

Funny that you have the Glenfiddich and the Balvenie in here against the blended Monkey Shoulder. I have been testing and man... when you do so you can tell where the notes for Monkey Shoulder come from and it is SOOOO much less expensive to buy monkey shoulder.

Black bottle is another blended Islays but hell at some point people need to put on their big boy pants and go find Lagavulin 16.

I don't know about other countries but in South African Monkey Shoulder is cheaper and a quality blended whiskey, Glen Grant Majors Reserve is the cheapest single malt whiskey.

Overall good video with some nice recommendations but a lot of these are not starter Scotches. Monkey Shoulder goes for ~$36 and The Balvenie goes for ~$75 here in Michigan. Over 2X is not an alternative starter Scotch. The Johnny Walker Black is a good recommendation at ~$37. Anyway I'd say these are good transition Scotches for someone looking to take a step beyond Monkey Shoulder. But even at transition The Balvenie is in the next price bracket.

All great picks for newbs. Agree 100%.

Love Johnie walker blaack and monkey shoulder.

Monkey shoulder is extremely impressive for both veterans and beginners

The only Scotch that I’ve ever had was the Glenfidich 12 and I really enjoyed it. Gonna try a couple more of these!

Good choices. I have a few of those but I buy Monkey Shoulder for my everyday dram now. It's a great value.

I tend to like a scotch and coke; I like the tasting notes but don't want the heat and water tends to gross me out.

Amended: glenfiddich 12 was good, glenfiddich 15 was perfect for me, glenfiddich 18......a little strong and not my preferred, also expensive.
monkey shoulder: my first one tried, it wasn't bad but I disdain smoky scotch which I picked up in the blend.

simply put: I love scotches finished with sherry casks, arguably bourbon casks, definitely NOT rum (glenlivet rum cask finish......definitely not a winner for me!)

HP12 is a very good bottle for its price. I can feel the difference in quality compared to other 12's. Also macallan 12 is a good one to start with.

glen grant 10 and 12 are quite good for the price.

Also those gift packs are a nice way to try some Scotch without buying a 750ml bottle. My 1st experience with Glenmorangie & Balvenie were with those gift packs and I had a small sample bottle of Glenfiddich 12 as I started trying Scotch as I was only into Bourbon at the time.

I like those choices, highland is still like $60 plus per bottle in the US not good for beginners for that price. That being said I like highland.

Monkey Shoulder definitely has a funk to it that I personally am not a fan of and I'm also not the biggest fan of peated Scotch, so it's great to get suggestions on other options in the world of Scotch. Very intrigued to learn about the Bruichladdich Classic Laddie! Will have to keep an eye out for that one to try.

It would be great to have something like this for Bourbon and Irish Whiskey

Hey, I don‘t know if you can get your hands on it in the US but talking about salt with the highlandpark i can really recommend „Guglhof TauernRogg“ from Salzburg, Austria to you. I‘m from Germany and found this single malt by coincidence and am now ordering it ever since :D
Love your work, wish you all the best!

WOW!! This list is full of banging whisky. Love the selections here as well as the explanations behind them. Please don't get me started on the HP marketing. Ugh. For me I would say get the Glenfiddich 12; Balvenie 12 and JW Black to start for the reasons mentioned in the video AND they can be found easily in 375ml or smaller so 1 can start on these without breaking the bank. The Classic Laddie is a nay for me. Maybe if you're a white wine drinker ok but its finish riled me.

“Get them all” best advice ever.

Another great starter and usually vey cheap…. GlenGrant 10

Balvenie 12 was my gateway whiskey

but monkey shoulder is the cheapest .

Hi, just picked up on your channel through this vlog and have subscribed.
I think you have missed one real option as a "starter" whisky, Black Bottle. As a blend of malts it offers a decent flavour profile and whilst it has peated Islay malt as one of the constituent parts, it's not overly smoky.
Black Bottle was the "hoose dram" of choice for my Father in Law and as such was my introduction to a decent dram. My own father was more of a Cameron Brig kinda lad, if any whisky made it as far as the hoose :) ...nuff said.
As pointed out by some commenters below as well, price is a factor. Whilst here in Scotland, Black Bottle will be consistently under £20 per bottle, most of the others you have listed won't be (apart from Monkey Shoulder).
Malts such as those you quoted fluctuate in price from the big four supermarkets by between £10 and £15 a bottle from week to week.
Give it a try folks, as a go to whisky, it's not half bad!

Kind Regards from Fife, Scotland.
Rodger

I work part time in a liquor store. I steer the customers to Speyburn 10 or walker green. Dependent on their price point. Cheers....

What about Aldi Highland Black?. Have you tried any of the Penderyn whisky’s?

Glad to see Old Pulteney in the back ground!

Besides Monkey Shoulder I would also recommend Jameson Stout Edition

Wee Beastie, I would have never got into whiskey without serious peat.

Price doesn't really come into the equation, if you don't like a particular style, you are not going to drink it however cheap it is. Johnny Walker black was probably my first experience of whiskey and not one I would go back to, almost put me off for good.
My goto now is Glenmorangie 10, but I have also enjoyed the Balvenie double barrel and the Glenfiddich 12. I'm not a fan of the smokey and peaty whiskeys. And although Irish rather than Scottish the Bushmills 10 is also a nice smooth whisky.

Some might be better but all cost more, some double the price of the Monkey.
Monkey Shoulder gets the most bang for the buck.

The only one not in my cabinet is the GlenGrant.

I'd submit Naked Malt (formerly Naked Grouse) as a contender