Highlights online this month include:

  • Scotch Malt MasterChef: When we first spoke to 2019 MasterChef winner, Irini Tzortzoglou, we knew we had met a kindred spirit – especially when we found out that she was already pairing Society whiskies and using them in some of her dishes. Mads Schmoll asked Irini to help us explore the flavours of Greece and to tell us about her own whisky journey.
  • Where flavour comes alive – Peated: Come huddle around the fire to hear Julien Willems’s second chapter of our tale on the Society’s peated whiskies. This month, he delves into the very heart of the matter: how is peat formed? How do different types of peat affect the flavours we perceive in our drams?
  • Oktoberfest Beer Collaboration: We have joined forces with Kehrwieder, one of the craft beer pioneers in the German brewing cosmos, as SMWS Germany ambassador Peter Eichhornexplains.
  • Hallowe’en cocktail special: the Devil’s Hot Share: We asked Anthony Delcros, assistant venue manager at our Members’ Room on Bath Street in Glasgow for his take on a Devil’s Share with some Peated flavour profile whisky for smoke and just a bit of chilli powder for a devilishly hot take on this cocktail for Hallowe’en.
  • Cask of the Month – the humble refill hoggie: Before we started hearing about ‘wood policies’ and ‘cask management’, whisky has always needed to be aged. For that, the most popular vessel of choice has, is, and for the foreseeable future always will be the humble refill bourbon hogshead. SMWS ambassador Lee “Connas” Connor continues his maturation journey with a deep dive into the workhorse of the Scotch whisky industry.
  • Distillery profile – Auchroisk: SMWS ambassador Lee ‘Connas’ Connor guides us through the unsung hero of Auchroisk, a lesser known distillery but one that shines through in our single cask offerings.
  • Industry Insider – Nicola Riske: For more than a decade, Nicola Riske has been sharing her passion for whisky as an ambassador for Edrington and The Macallan. Our very own SMWS ambassador for The Netherlands, Monique ten Kortenaar, caught up with Nicola to find out more about her journey and how to grow your understanding and appreciation of whisky.
  • Member profile – Whisky and glaciers: Society member and mountaineer Nigel Vardy had to put his adventures on hold during the course of pandemic. But when he finally had the chance to travel to Norway and Greenland, the perfect Society bottling was an essential part of his kit.
  • Whisky History – From beer to whisky and beyond: The links between whisky and beer are many and varied, and as Gavin D Smith reports, many distilleries started out life as breweries – while others combine to produce both drinks.
  • From the Vaults– Fantastic flavour fanatics: Fascinating pairings and intriguing palate pleasers were on the menu at our Sensory Symposium event in London back in 2017. Here’s a flavour of what was discussed from Unfiltered issue 36 in July that year.
  • Partner Bar – Villa Konthor, Germany: As Villa Konthor celebrates its 15th anniversary as an SMWS partner bar, we spoke to owner Robin Pitz about what makes it such a special place for whisky lovers.
  • Share a dram with…Helen Brownless, SMWS DRAM-cierge.