Step Up to the Bar at June and Earn Your Way to World’s 50 Best!
Today we were invited down to June to learn more about Monkey Shoulder and potentially earn tickets to attend the upcoming 50 Best Bars awards, the following day. Monkey Shoulder also happens to be the event’s official scotch whiskey partner.
They are a popular blend of malt Scotch whisky produced by William Grant & Sons. Scotch whisky is a protected geographical indicator. It needs to be aged and bottled in Scotland in order to be given this designation. The brand is 20 year old, having launched in 2025, by these pioneers of the single malt. They have produced Monkey Shoulder by respecting the tradition and heritage of scotch, but simultaneously moving in opposite direction of it, for a more approachable and contemporary blend.
Its name refers to an injury formerly suffered by malt men, who once engaged in the repetitive manual turning of barley. This caused temporary injury, resulting in one arm to hang low like that of a monkey’s. This Scottish whisky slang has since been adapted to honour the hard labour of distillery workers, and now refers to this blended malt scotch that has been made for mixing.
Along with the symbolism in its name, the three monkeys in their logo also has meaning. The number represents a mix of the three Speyside single malts aged in bourbon casks that they use. Each are known for being versatile, smooth, and aimed at mixing. With notes of vanilla, marmalade, and spiced oak.
We were able to try each of the three malts individually, before mixing it all together to create our own dram of Monkey Shoulder at our seats circling the bar.
We were then given brief instructions and a drink recipe card in order to mix our own Old Fashioned and Whisky Sour using Monkey Shoulder and our choice of sweetener, garnish, and bitters. This was a task led by Joe Petch, Global Mixologist and Marie-Louise Roy-Bilodeau, the Ultimate Bartender Championship Global winner.
Once we had gotten more familiar with Monkey Shoulder we then travelled downstairs to June’s basement, Bar Lala. This was my first time visiting both these properties and I really enjoyed their casual and contemporary decorating.
In the basement we were given a further taste of what’s it like to be a bartender by participating in a nosing challenge. This is essentially a blind scent test. The goal was to smell what was in the dram and identify the spirit category and brand name without tasting. And the one who got the most answers correct would get tickets to the World’s 50 Best – one of the most sought-after experiences in global food and drink culture.
This trial was a taste of the Ultimate Bartender Championship, with our own local spirit educator and Whiskey Queen Reece Sims as judge.
As we learned and sipped, we were treated to snacks from June’s kitchen. These were passed canapés that included tartare on potato chips, Gruyère cheese balls, fresh oysters already dressed, and a mini two-bite lobster roll, that everyone was raving about.
Thus ended our time. This was just enough to get me interested in revisiting the restaurant and bar and start mixing more with Monkey Shoulder.
June & Bar Lala
3305 Cambie St., Vancouver, BC V5Z 2W6
(236) 521-1620
iuneoncambie.com
