Scotch Malt Whisky Society 78.66

Tasting Notes

SMWS Tasting Panel's tasting note:  "An immediately assertive nose full of personality. We found ginger wine, sultanas, brown bread, treacle, aged leather, pipe tobacco and dark chocolate. With time it evolved towards heather flowers, walnuts and rancio, before water brought dried flowers, mango chunks, walnut oil, marzipan and cough mixtures – this is a big, no-nonsense sherried west Highland whisky.

The palate was superbly oily and fat; full of sweet waxes, dark fruit cordials, aged Armagnac, rustic earthiness and hints of balsamic glaze and crystallised exotic fruits. With water came notes of salted pistachios, aged mead, camphor, mineral oils and malt extract. This was matured for six years in a bourbon hogshead before being transferred to a 2nd fill oloroso sherry hogshead."

Independent Bottler

As a member, you will join over 27,000 other members around the world who, like our whiskies, are altogether unique. Only members can purchase SMWS whiskies (please note we are not a Scotch-of-the-Month club); you'll join a family of whisky adventurers who appreciate that their whisky discoveries taste better when shared.

SMWS Canada offers a variety of whiskies, and sometimes other spirits, every month.  Our exclusive retail partners, including Kensington Wine Market, host tastings of our new releases every month, and members get advance notice and a discount on the ticket price.

Also available exclusively to members is Unfiltered, our award-winning online magazine that is guaranteed to provide you with fascinating insights into The Society and its events, and the world of single malt whisky.

Members also gain access to Members' Rooms in Edinburgh, Leith, London and elsewhere, and receive a discount at SMWS Partner Bars around the world.

A Club With Personality - Who Are We?

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is a club unlike any other. Since we were formed in 1983, we've believed in doing things differently. We seek out whisky in its purest form, we prize flavour above everything else, and we're united and constant in our passion - to share the world's best whiskies, to bring them to life, and to make you proud to belong to the world's most colourful whisky club.

Our Beginnings

"The people who said it couldn't be done were so dull" - Pip Hills, Society Founder

Our Society grew out of a few individuals' irrepressible spirit of discovery and adventure, which still drives us today. Inspired by the unique character of a cask of single malt whisky, purchased over 30 years ago from a Speyside distillery, this pioneering group of friends founded the Society in 1983 to buy more casks and share their discovery with like-minded adventurers.

What We Do

Each of our whiskies must pass the uncompromising noses of our expert Tasting Panel – a secretive group of independent whisky connoisseurs from all walks of life – before being deemed worthy of an iconic Society green bottle. The exploration of flavour and sharing our discoveries is what we're all about. Our members enjoy exclusive access to our hand-picked whiskies from over 140 distilleries in Scotland and beyond. We bottle them at cask strength and offer a constant variety. How you drink them is entirely up to you.