Thread: Scotch/whiskey of the day

Anyone here a member of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society?
It's crossed my mind to join but what do you actually get for your money, apart from access to often still expensive SMWS bottlings and stuff?

EDIT: it looks like £122 (£60 annual renewal) to have access to unique single cask bottlings that appear to be £45 at a minimum, plus access to tasting events (at cost) and their quarterly magazine. Is it really worth that amount of money?

Originally Posted by PigHog

Anyone here a member of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society?
It's crossed my mind to join but what do you actually get for your money, apart from access to often still expensive SMWS bottlings and stuff?

EDIT: it looks like £122 (£60 annual renewal) to have access to unique single cask bottlings that appear to be £45 at a minimum, plus access to tasting events (at cost) and their quarterly magazine. Is it really worth that amount of money?

I am a member of the SMWSA. It really depends on what you are looking for as to whether it is worth it or not. Personally, it is for me. If you live near a society spot (which I do not, unfortunately), it would probably be a lot more value for your dollar (or pound). The annual fee is just for the membership, which as you mentioned, gets you access and the magazine.

The bottles themselves are definitely unique. And that is where the perceived value comes into play. Each month (sometimes twice), you receive the outturn which offers around 6 new bottles (here in the US anyway). They are from any one of 130+ distilleries. All the society does is filter for particles, and that is it. The whisky is all cask strength, only from a single cask. No blending of casks. What you end up with is a unique flavor that may or may not match the distillery itself. As Ezekiel81 mentioned, he might look at a Lagavulin independent bottling. If you were to purchase an offering from the society, it would most likely taste like a Lagavulin and have their profile, but would taste nothing like one of their releases (if that makes sense.)

An additional note, they use a numbering system only. Each number represents a specific distillery which is easily found online, however the society does not identify them by name.

I hope that helps a little bit. You can PM me if you have further questions. I don't mind answering specifics for you.

Paul

Originally Posted by arsenal

I am a member of the SMWSA. It really depends on what you are looking for as to whether it is worth it or not. Personally, it is for me. If you live near a society spot (which I do not, unfortunately), it would probably be a lot more value for your dollar (or pound). The annual fee is just for the membership, which as you mentioned, gets you access and the magazine.

The bottles themselves are definitely unique. And that is where the perceived value comes into play. Each month (sometimes twice), you receive the outturn which offers around 6 new bottles (here in the US anyway). They are from any one of 130+ distilleries. All the society does is filter for particles, and that is it. The whisky is all cask strength, only from a single cask. No blending of casks. What you end up with is a unique flavor that may or may not match the distillery itself. As Ezekiel81 mentioned, he might look at a Lagavulin independent bottling. If you were to purchase an offering from the society, it would most likely taste like a Lagavulin and have their profile, but would taste nothing like one of their releases (if that makes sense.)

An additional note, they use a numbering system only. Each number represents a specific distillery which is easily found online, however the society does not identify them by name.

I hope that helps a little bit. You can PM me if you have further questions. I don't mind answering specifics for you.

Paul

Hmm. Thanks -- it does sound very appealing when you put it like that. I would like to join but it's not cheap so I'm just trying to weigh that up!

Coincidentally I work around the corner from the Central London venue. Single cask, cask strength offerings are calling my name but I'll think about it over the weekend...

Originally Posted by PigHog

Hmm. Thanks -- it does sound very appealing when you put it like that. I would like to join but it's not cheap so I'm just trying to weigh that up!

Coincidentally I work around the corner from the Central London venue. Single cask, cask strength offerings are calling my name but I'll think about it over the weekend...

Working around the corner from a venue would be too tempting for me! Having never visited one of the venues, I have no idea how much a dram costs. I can tell you that the bottles are not cheap, with graduated pricing based on age. And they are unique, with whisky you can't find easily anywhere else. A month or so ago they had a 40 year old Glen Moray offering - it was $340US. Would I love to taste it? Of course! Did I buy it? Not a chance. I can almost guarantee you will end up passing over many, many bottles that sound fantastic. Just the nature of the beast. But, being so close to the venue, you would be able to sample drams easily. A tough call for sure. You will end up spending more....

Paul