Scotch Malt Whisky Society 76.151

Tasting Notes

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: thick, oily, and spicy with loads of dark fruit; stewed prunes, cooked raisins, and fig jam; sweet & sour pork, caramel chews, and peanut brittle; sticky toffee pudding with treacle sauce, Aussie licorice, and marmite; building earthy spices leading to clove, fennel, and candied ginger; meaty and leathery, with cigar tobacco and chocolate.

Palate: thick, fruity, and sweet with a firm oaky backbone of spice; starts again with the dried dark fruits and fig jam, before fading into the sticky toffee pudding and treacle sauce; brown sugar, candied ginger, and Cortese Italian Cola; loads of rich chocolate notes, layered atop a base of toasty vanilla, and coconut; it is still leathery, earthy, and meaty: bbq baby back ribs, sweet and sour pork, and Peeking duck; the spices kick in closer to the finish.

Finish: long, sweet, layered, and sherried; the dark fruits, chocolate, and meaty tones are leading the charge, with the spices, and toasted oak bringing up the rear.

Comment: a lovely, elegant, old Morltach, the sherry finishing is very well done, and far from over the top; a bold but balanced whisky for its age! 

SMWS Tasting Panel's tasting note:  "An irresistible concoction of coffee and cloves pulled us towards beef jerky smoked with pencil shavings and served with maple syrup on bacon. A prickly palate of peppercorns and pickles danced with glee to the sound of black pudding sizzling in whirling clouds of wood smoke. A drop of water unleashed a compelling accumulation of chamomile, caramel and cooling camphor that skilfully merged with the heavyweight hues of molasses, prunes and almond-coated jamaica cake.

Then cloves and saffron adorned poached pears alongside oloroso sherry trifle while we used burnt sticks to trickle rich honey over oily iberico ham. After spending 26 years in an ex-bourbon hogshead this was transferred to a first fill Spanish oak oloroso hogshead for the remainder of its maturation."

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.