Highlights online this month include:

  • Whisky sensploration: Have you ever considered why marshmallows are more exciting when toasted? Or why cracking crème brûlée with a spoon is so satisfying? The answers also relate to our relationship with whisky, and in the search for answers, SMWS Tasting Panel chair Kami Newton set out to boldly go where no other whisky tasting has gone before – into a world wrapped purely in texture.
  • Spirits of independence: If you needed any further excuse to break out your cocktail shaker this summer, July holds several international days of celebration to raise a glass to.Helen Brownless from the SMWS DRAM-cierge team has compiled a list of easy-to-mix cocktails to help you celebrate in spirit this summer to mark the national days of Canada, the United States and France.
  • Where flavour comes alive – Light & Delicate: Summer has settled, the days are long and bright, and Julien Willems is dreaming of a Light & Delicate flavour profile dram savoured with a healthy dose of fresh air.
  • Pip Hills and The Scotch Whisky Directory: Long before the Society’s system of flavour profiles came into existence, SMWS founder Pip Hills had devised his own method of describing a whisky’s attributes with a simple bar chart. Here, he describes the origins of The Scotch Whisky Directory, and how the book was compiled.
  • Member profile – Hans Samyn: SMWS ambassador Dean Marinello raises a dram with new Belgian member, Hans Samyn, who describes the inspiration for his home whisky den ‘The Old Squirrel’, his global travel memories and his latest adventure as a member of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
  • Whisky History – The original whisky bar: Teacher’s whisky is known the world over, with its famous Highland Cream blend having first been registered in 1884. What is less well known, however, is that a case may be made for company founder William Teacher being the originator of the specialist whisky bar, as Gavin D Smith reports.
  • From the vaults – The French Revolution: The approach of Bastille Day in France on July 14 took us back to an Unfiltered feature from April 2010, when Richard Goslan travelled to Paris to investigate the country’s long-standing love affair with whisky in general and a passion for single malts in particular.
  • Knowledge – Anatomy of a cask: In the long history of making whisky, it’s fair to say that – in terms of flavour creation – the importance of the vessels in which we mature the spirit has been overlooked until relatively recently. Although they come in many shapes and sizes, casks are all made using a similar process, as Lee ‘Connas’ Connor explains.
  • Partner Bar – Zee en Duin, The Netherlands: Looking for a charming seaside paradise with plenty of whisky to enjoy? Look no further than Hotel Zee en Duin, our newest partner bar in Katwijk aan Zee in The Netherlands.
  • Share a dram with…Dr Andy Forrester, SMWS spirits educator.