We were recently introduced to the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) via their Member Ambassador Sergio Mendoza at a tasting event that he led at Tres Social Tapas in Las Vegas. We learned that the SMWS club hand selects single malt scotch by the barrel, does the finish, and then – presents the most aged and rare scotch whiskies we’ve ever enjoyed.
As you linger over your taste you can try and guess the distillery – it won’t be written on the bottle – or do some research of your own to find out. We had Sergio handy, since then Eddie downloaded an app where you type in the number on the bottle and the app tells you the distillery.
Knowing that we had a trip to the U.K. on the horizon and would have the opportunity to taste more of their only-available-to-member whiskies, we joined the club for a paltry $50, though I believe this was a special price.
There are four member clubs in the U.K. and we made reservations at two of them. (There are “partner bars” at 21 other locations, also branches and events like the one we attended.) The other benefit of membership is having the ability to buy their whiskies, as they are only sold to members.
For just a taste of our experience, these are just some of the bottles, with the wild names they dream up, that we tried at the Vaults club in Edinburgh:
30 YO Understated Opulence – Ed’s favorite, we learned that it was Linkwood distillery.
31 YO Chocolate Mice Nibbling Rhubarb
31 YO Maritime Drift
21 YO Delight in the Uncanny
18 YO Fresh As A Mountain Stream – my favorite of the lineup
24 YO Fractal Peetreek
And it that wasn’t enough, we had a part two tasting at a club in London where we enjoyed:
22 YO Something For The Sweet-toothed
20 YO The Autumnal Vineyard
21 YO Smoked Lavender – the Creators Collection and my favorite on this day.
34 YO Gallovidian Rhapsody
31 YO A Chair For Contemplation – Ed’s favorite, which he also looked up and it’s from Mortlach distillery.
30 YO Sublime Nectar
30 YO The American – the Collectors Collection
Depending on the age statement, and rarity, bottle prices ranged from $100 to several thousand dollars. We now own one, we are aiming to owning more!
Find on Instagram:
@SMWSAmerica @SMWS_UK
Member rooms:
https://smwsa.com/about-smwsa/members-rooms
Eve Bushman has a Level Two Intermediate Certification from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET), a “certification in the first globally-recognized course” as an American Wine Specialist ® from the North American Sommelier Association (NASA), Level 1 Sake Award from WSET, was the subject of a 60-minute Wine Immersion video (over 16k views), authored “Wine Etiquette for Everyone” and has served as a judge for the Proof Awards since 2022 (submit via https://proofawards.com) Cellarmasters, LA Wine Competition, Long Beach Grand Cru and the Global Wine Awards. You can email Eve@EveWine101.com to ask a question about wine or spirits. Follow on Instagram and Facebook.
