November Outturn 2024 Ambassador’s Address
It’s that time of year. It’s the festive season fast upon us. It’s time to open something special at the Christmas table and give something special to those around you.
By the time you’re reading this, I will be approximately one month in my new locale. One month in Edinburgh, and hopefully settled in with my feet under the desk of my new role. Many of you saw the press release, but for those who didn’t, I’ve been appointed as Managing Director for SMWS Europe. This is a huge opportunity that I couldn’t pass up, but while I’ll be looking after Europe for this challenge, I’ll be keeping Australia branch in my purview, so you won’t be rid of me just yet.
This whisky journey is truly such a ride. All the amazing members, guests, venues, bartenders, and stories that you gain from such a rich experience are worth every second. I’m hoping that with me taking on this new challenge, I can continue to elevate the offering to Australian members of the club, keep encouraging others to join, and keep sharing the magic that is single-cask, cask-strength, single-malt whiskies with so many around me.
With this change, also come other changes within our wider team. First up, congratulations to Adam Ioannidis who’s been promoted to Marketing Manager, and a hearty welcome to Lachlan Watt, who, after serving up SMWS by the dram at Whisky & Alement as Bar Manager for the last eight years, has made the leap over to the SMWS team as our new Advocacy Manager. Suzy, Donelle, Andrew & I are all over the moon to have both these appointments locked and loaded at the tail of 2024 as we plan ahead for a big 2025.
Speaking of big, look at what you’re reading! November Outturn is our double issue. Our bumper edition of Outturn has twice as many casks on offer than usual. It’s your chance to get ahead of the Xmas shopping rush, score some bundles, some new casks, maybe even a cheeky Vaults Collection for that relative you’ve been meaning to spoil (or hey, just yourself) and open up something special this year. It’s been a weird year in some ways: uncertainty, interest rates, etc have all just caused a bit of madness. But if at the end of it all, we can sit back and say “we’ve made it” with a delicious bottle of single-cask SMWS whisky, then all is right for a moment.
Carve up the ham, fire up the BBQ, and pop open a Society pour this festive season for our bumper Outturn.
Cheers,
Matt
Managing Director, SMWS Europe & Australia
This article is featured in November 2024 Outturn — bottles will be available to purchase on Friday the 15th of November at midday AEDT exclusively to members of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Not a member? Click here to learn more about the world’s most colourful whisky club.
