Category: Scotch Malt Whisky Society

The Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship, 2022

The biennial Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship returned to Sydney in March 2022, after a series of interruptions due to COVID and lockdowns.  Originally scheduled for June 2020, it was postponed twice and pushed into 2021, then had to be re-scheduled again to 2022 after the second wave from Delta.   For competitors who’d been holding on to their entry ticket for two years, it was a relief when the event finally got the green light to proceed and the various COVID variants were kept at bay for one incredible night.   And, as whisky nights go, this was a great one….

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Bruichladdich – the Gathering

Sydney has been fortunate to play host to some incredible whisky tastings over the years.  The Ultimate Ardbeg Dinner (2007) and the Ultimate Glenfarclas Tasting (2015) being two examples.  This month, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society curated and hosted what must go close to being the Ultimate Bruichladdich Tasting. Continue reading “Bruichladdich – the Gathering”

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society presents….Exotic Cargo

Members or watchers of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society may recently have heard about one of the Society’s latest projects:  The release of a blended malt.  No, not a blend….a blended malt.   (And if that subtle distinction in terminology still confuses you, you are welcome to write to the Scotch Whisky Association and let them know your thoughts on the matter.  Good luck.)  It goes by the name of Exotic Cargo

If there’s one thing you can’t accuse the Society of doing in recent times, it’s standing still.   Clubs, societies, bottlers, and brands need to continually evolve and change with the times, and the Society has been particularly pro-active in expanding its list of bottlings and the benefits that membership bestows on its members.

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Fets Whisky Kitchen, Vancouver

One of the greatest and most appealing aspects of being a member of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is the Members’ Rooms in the UK.  With two venues in Edinburgh and one in London, the Members’ Rooms are both havens and heaven.  They’re the whisky equivalent of entering one of the First Class airline lounges at an airport:  Cosy lounges, brilliant food, a comfy fire during winter, knowledgeable and friendly staff, meeting facilities, and – of course – a sensational whisky bar.  New and old SMWS whiskies adorn the shelves and they’re great venues to try the latest releases first without necessarily having to buy a whole bottle for yourself.

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The Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship, 2016

{This is an older post from the 2016 Championship.  See our newer post following the 2022 event}

The Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship is a bit like the internet.  It’s something you might think is a relatively “new” thing, when the reality is that it’s been around for decades longer than you gave it credit for.

In actual fact, the Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship has been around since 1989!  As the name suggests, it is a tasting competition, and had its origins in Adelaide, South Australia.  The competition’s principal format and structure has remained largely unchanged over the years: Competitors are presented with eight whiskies pre-poured before them, and supplied with a list of nine possible whiskies – in other words, the eight whiskies that are on the table, plus one red herring.   Competitors are then given 30 minutes to identify which whisky is which and to write their answers on the answer sheet.  Of course, having a list with all of the possible contenders in front of you makes the exercise seem a little easier, but the challenge is also in establishing which whisky of the nine on the list is not on the table!

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An audience with Balvenie and David Stewart

Want to know about David Stewart and his role with Balvenie / William Grant and Sons?  Read on….

If you’re an employer or in charge of Human Resources, you’ll be aware of the dynamic and shifting nature of your workforce in recent years.  Being Generation X myself, it was drummed into me that you should show loyalty to your employer and stick around.  We were constantly told by the Baby Boomer generation above us that “your CV will look more impressive and you’ll be rewarded if you’ve demonstrated that you stay at the one place for five to ten years.”

This is in stark contrast to the Gen Y and Millenial approach, where the thinking seems to be that a CV littered with multiple positions and experience gained across a many different roles and jobs is the more attractive pursuit.

So with that as context, what do we make of an employee who sticks with his boss for 54 years?  What do we make of a role and a career that has outlasted many people’s lives, let alone most people’s professional undertakings?  Such is the story and the appeal of Mr David Stewart of Balvenie.

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The art of matching food to whisky

When The Scotch Malt Whisky Society launched and commenced operations in Australia back in 2002, one of the earliest and most staple activities was a healthy program of whisky dinners.   The tradition of whisky and food matching has never died and, here in Sydney at least, the Society continues to hold at least two significant whisky dinners each year for its members. When it comes to matters culinary, if you’re going to promote something as being uniquely special, delivering excellence, and showcasing “the best”, then you need to work with the best. For this reason, wherever possible, the Society chooses to team up with Franz Scheurer – the maestro of matching food to whisky.

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Port Ellen and dram envy

[Update 2024: The article below was originally written in 2015.  Of course, the *new* Port Ellen distillery opened its doors in March 2024, but this changes the narrative only a little.  Much of what follows remains valid, given it will be many years until the new spirit has matured, and there will always be lust for the “old” Port Ellen.] What makes Port Ellen whisky so special?  Why is the Port Ellen distillery so revered, considering it was decided to close it down in 1983?  Let’s look at the fully story, including why Port Ellen whisky makes plenty of people envious…

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The Ultimate Glenfarclas Tasting

Back in 2007, a very special whisky event was held in Sydney, Australia.  Held at Sydney’s iconic Claude’s restaurant, it was billed as “The Ultimate Ardbeg Dinner” and it featured an unbelievable line up of the rarest Ardbeg bottlings ever assembled, including the 1965.  That particular event had been preceded a year earlier by an incredible Macallan tasting (featuring the full ESC range, as well as rare bottlings from the 1980’s). And, only a short time prior to that, there was the unbelievable Springbank tasting, which featured the entire Millennium range of Springbanks.  These were the glory days of tasting and appreciating the uber rare, special, and expensive releases amongst Scotland’s elite single malt bottlings and distilleries.  In terms of the rarity of the whiskies at the Ultimate Ardbeg Dinner, many thought such an event could never be equalled.  We may finally have found a successor…

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SMWS Jim McEwan & Bruichladdich Masterclass

On 1st October, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (Australia) held a very special SMWS / Bruichladdich / Jim McEwan masterclass.

It’s hard to write an objective, even a subjective review of a tasting event when you’re one of the co-hosts and facilitators of the event.  However, this was a fantastic evening, with so much whisky love in the air, and so one can’t help but give some account of the evening.  So forgive me if it comes across as a little biased…..

Jim McEwan, industry legend, is currently on a promotional tour across Australia to share the Bruichladdich story with whisky drinkers.  Trade and open-to-the-public tastings have been organised in most of the capital cities, and the Australian distributor, South Trade, has got Jim on an incredibly busy schedule, with up to three or four events each day for the next two weeks.  And Jim wouldn’t have it any other way.

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