WHISKY WITH HIDDEN DEPTHS: A journey with The Scotch Malt Whisky Society can take you well off the beaten path when it comes to different forms of maturation, says Julien Willems.
A SCOTCH WHISKY SCANDAL REVISITED: Society member Justine Hazlehurst is an expert on Leith’s whisky history. Now she has turned her attention to the infamous story of the local Pattison brothers, who have become synonymous with the collapse of the whisky market at the turn of the 20th century. In her new book she says it’s time to re-evaluate their role.
DISTILLERY PROFILE – THY (SMWS DISTILLERY 153): Lee ‘Connas’ Connor has been on Unfiltered duty everywhere from the West Coast of the United States to the rye fields of Finland to bring you the stories of the people behind some of the most interesting new wave of world whisky distilleries. This month, he’s been talking to Jakob Stjernholm from Demark’s Thy distillery to find out what makes them tick.
‘HERESY’ SMALL BATCH DELIGHTS – CARAMEL CASCADE: The latest release from the Society’s ‘Heresy’ series of small-batch bottlings comes from Ireland, right in time to raise a glass for St Patrick’s Day. As Julien Willems describes, Caramel cascade not only comes from across the sea, it’s also from a lesser-spotted form of sherry cask maturation.
UNSUNG HERO – GLENTAUCHERS: A distillery where tradition meets the modern world, Glentauchers is prized by owners Chivas Brothers as a place to train new distillers and is also leading the way in achieving carbon neutrality, as Gavin D Smith reports.
INSIDE THE SMWS: Looking to make your Society experience more meditative? Our ambassador Lucy Connor can help with that, through her ‘Dramaste’ tasting events at The Vaults. Mads Schmoll caught up with her to find out about the need to slow down when we’re sipping, her path into whisky and her involvement with OurWhisky Foundation’s mentorship programme.
SMWS HISTORY – THE WORLD IN YOUR GLASS: International Whisky Day on 27 March is a celebration of whisky from around the world, and of the life and work of whisky writer Michael Jackson. At the Society, members have come to love our offering of global whiskies. But you don’t have to go back all that far to a time where the attitude was quite the opposite, as Duncan Gorman writes.