Monkey Shoulder Batch No. 27 & ABV questions

[Newkophile]

The following is an e-mail I sent on the Monkey Shoulder website for which I have yet to receive a response. Perhaps someone here can enlighten me:

"Here in southeast Florida, I regularly purchase a 750 ml bottle of Monkey Shoulder, Batch No. 27, 43% ABV. Earlier this month, my wife and I took a trip to Paris for sightseeing and to visit a married couple who reside in a suburb outside Paris. Having been invited to stay at this couple's home for the last two days of our trip and knowing that the husband is a whisky drinker, I was happy to spot and purchase what appeared to be an absolutely identical bottle of Monkey Shoulder at a local Carrefour supermarket in Paris. When I presented the bottle to our host couple and began informing them of the virtues of this whisky, e.g., how this it is a blend of three single malts, etc., I was surprised to discover that although the bottle appeared identical to what I drink back home, Batch No. 27, the label indicated a lower ABV of 40%. Convinced as I am that ABV and taste are correlated, this was a disappointment. What is the purpose of the "Batch No. 27" label when the U.S. edition is 43% ABV and the France edition is 40%? Doesn't this make for two distinctly different "batches"? And lastly, what is the purpose of this inconsistency?"

[Kray]

The purpose of this inconsistency is simply money, William Grants who bottle Monkey Shoulder bottle it at 40% ABV for the UK & European market but it appears they bottle it at 43% for the US market. Each batch of Monkey Shoulder is a batch of 27 casks of malt whisky which have been blended together.

William Grants also do this with the Balvenie Doublewood i believe, 40% in Europe and 43% in the US and travel retail. You certainly get the better deal in the US.

[Fergie]

I have always wondered why some whiskies are bottled at different strengths for different markets.