The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Australia

Some Eirinn Heresy in Melbourne
2025-04-10 18:30 - 21:30 (Australia/Melbourne) | P.J. O’Brien’s Irish Pub, 12-16/3 Southgate Ave, Southbank, Victoria, 3006, Australia
It’s time to don a touch of green as we celebrate a belated St Patrick’s Day — and what better way to do so than with the release of our Irish Heresy bottling, a pint of Guinness, and a feast at P.J. O’Brien’s!
Long-time Society members will remember the regular casual feasts we enjoyed at P.J. O’Brien’s Irish Pub. Well, we’re returning to the famed venue this April to celebrate a belated St Paddy’s Day with a stellar line-up of Heresy releases! Guests can expect a fun and festive evening kicking off with a dram of Shimmering silk — our newly-released and first-ever Irish Heresy bottling produced in collaboration with Dunville’s Whisk — and a pint of Guinness on arrival, before sitting down to enjoy a curated line-up of 5x SMWS small-batch Heresy releases, both classic and new, with a hearty, two-course meal from the P.J’s kitchen.
Your local VIC Society Ambassador Alex Moores will be taking guests through the history of Irish whisky with the SMWS as well as the purpose of our clear-bottle ‘Heresy’ range of whiskies. Guests can expect a casual evening of great whisky, tasty food and fantastic company as we return to P.J. O’Brien’s in Southbank.

When? Thursday 10th of April 2025 — 6:30pm arrival for a 7:00pm start.
Where? P.J. O’Brien’s Irish Pub, Shop G12-16, Southgate Restaurant & Shopping Precinct, Southbank VIC 3006.

Members are welcome to bring guests at member prices. Non-members are encouraged to attend and see what the Society is all about.

The Sweetest May Outturn Preview
2025-04-30 18:00 - 21:00 (Australia/Perth) | Terrarium, 99 St Georges Terrace, Perth, WA, 6000, Australia
Members and friends, it’s been far too long, but we’re ready to tantalise your senses once more with a special May Outturn preview…with a sweet twist!

Join your State Ambassador David Stucken at Society Partner Bar Terrarium in Perth CBD for a Wednesday evening flavour fiesta. Guests will enjoy a curated selection of 5x drams from the unreleased May Outturn, in addition to a custom-made JG Thomson Sweet highball on arrival. Plus, we’ve teamed up with a local chocolatier to turn up the flavour and will be pairing each dram with a chocolate.
This is a casual, cocktail-style event where guests will have a chance to mingle between and during drams — a fun, laid-back occasion to come down and celebrate some incredible whiskies before they’re released (plus the opportunity to purchase bottling ahead of other members).

When? Wednesday 30th of April 2025 — 6:00pm arrival for a 6:30pm start.
Where? Terrarium Bar, 99 St Georges Terrace (Howards St Entrance), Perth WA 6000.

Members are welcome to bring guests at member prices. Non-members are encouraged to attend and see what the Society is all about. This venue is wheelchair accessible.

SMWS Cocktail Party: Leah Dunnigan x W&A Takeover
2025-05-19 18:00 - 21:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Whisky & Alement, 270 Russell St, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
Australia’s #1 Bartender Comes to Whisky & Alement!

We’re super excited to be joining up with Melbourne Partner Bar Whisky & Alement to bring Leah Dunnigan — Australian T25 Bartender of the year and QLD Partner Bar Savile Row’s Bar Manager — down to Melbourne for one night of cask-strength Society cocktails and fun!
Leah will create four unique cocktails, each hero-ing a different cask-strength Society release; plus, there’ll be a break-even dram of Rare Release 53 Honeysuckle petrichor (one of Leah’s top 10 drams tasted for 2024) available.

When: Monday 19th of May 2025 — 6pm – 9pm
Where: Whisky & Alement, 270 Russell St, Melbourne VIC 3072.

No bookings required!
This is not a formal event. Just rock up and enjoy some great, unique Society cocktails with friends. Make sure to bring your Society membership card as members will receive discounts on the 4x cocktails for the duration of the pop-up.

Single Cask Spirits Spotlight
2025-05-30 18:30 - 21:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | Whisky & Alement, 270 Russell St, Melbourne, VIC, 3000, Australia
Beyond single malt, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society also experiments with Single Cask Spirits — each bottle a love letter to the other spirits whose character truly shines when bottled in single cask form, and we’d love to share some new releases with you.
Join us upstairs at Whisky & Alement for a Friday night of Single Cask Spirits as we spotlight a different type of SCS release from the Society catalogue — most of which have not yet been released in Australia! This intimate tasting will be led by your local VIC Society Ambassador Alex Moores and will encompass Society Armagnac (.1 from a new code), Cognac, Rum, Bourbon, Rye Whiskey, and, of course, a single malt to top things off.
This is an intimate showcase event and an opportunity to try some unreleased drams and learn more about the Society’s Single Cask Spirit range. 6x drams and shared cheeseboards. Tickets are limited, so grab yours when they go on sale Thursday, 15th of May at midday.

When? Friday, 30 May 2025 — 6:30pm arrival for a 7:00pm start.
Where? Whisky & Alement Upstairs — 270 Russell Street, Melbourne VIC 3000.

This event is available only to members of SMWS Australia; members may purchase an extra ticket for a guest, though.

Tickets go on sale Thursday 15th of May at midday.

Whisky Wanderers Festivals Lands in Perth
2025-06-12 18:00 - 21:30 (Australia/Perth) | Terrarium, 99 St Georges Terrace, Perth, WA, 6000, Australia
The Whisky Wanderers Festival has arrived on our shores, making it the perfect time to celebrate together in Perth through the medium of full-flavoured Society whisky!

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society has long celebrated the regions, provenance, casks, and flavours of whisky, and this year, we invite you to embark on a journey through flavour with our own take on the classic festivals — The Whisky Wanderers. Building on the Rare Releases of previous years, the Society has unveiled a series of specially selected and carefully matured casks globally to mark the inaugural Whisky Wanderers Festival. We’re lucky enough to be receiving 14 of them in Australia (including the highly anticipated five-region blended malt Wandering Alchemy).
Join SMWS Australia National Ambassador, Lachlan Watt and local Ambassador Xander Stucken for a special evening tasting through 8x of these incredible Whisky Wanderers casks, accompanied by snacks and small plates at the ever-incredible Terrarium Bar. This is a casual free-roam event (think of it like a mini-festival) where guests will have the opportunity to taste through the whiskies at their own in their own order; it will also be a unique opportunity to try a brand new Society distillery code — Distillery 162!

When? Thursday 12th of June 2025 — 6:00pm arrival for a 6:30pm start.
Where? Terrarium Bar, 99 St Georges Terrace (Howards St Entrance), Perth WA 6000.

Members are welcome to bring guests at member prices. Non-members are also welcome to attend.

Flavourful Wonders for Whisky Wanderers Adelaide
2025-06-19 18:00 - 21:30 (Australia/Adelaide) | Spier & Wright, U1/151 King William Road, Unley, South Australia, 5061, Australia
The Whisky Wanderers Festival has arrived on our shores, making it the perfect time to celebrate together in Adelaide through the medium of full-flavoured Society whisky!

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society has long celebrated the regions, provenance, casks, and flavours of whisky, and this year, we invite you to embark on a journey through flavour with our own take on the classic festivals — The Whisky Wanderers. Building on the Rare Releases of previous years, the Society has unveiled a series of specially selected and carefully matured casks globally to mark the inaugural Whisky Wanderers Festival. We’re lucky enough to be receiving 14 of them in Australia (including the highly anticipated five-region blended malt Wandering Alchemy).
Join SMWS Australia National Ambassador, Lachlan Watt, for a special evening tasting through 6x of these incredible Whisky Wanderers casks, accompanied by curated cheese and grazing plates at our esteemed Partner Bar, Spier and Wright. This is an intimate and casual evening of flavour and excitement, and will also be a unique opportunity to try a brand new Society distillery code — Distillery 162!

When? Thursday, 19 June 2025 — 6:00pm arrival for a 6:30pm start.
Where? Spier & Wright, 1/151 King William Rd, Unley SA 5061.

Members are welcome to bring guests at member prices. Non-members are also welcome to attend.

Melbourne Whisky Wanderers Festival 2025
2025-06-21 14:00 - 18:00 (Australia/Melbourne) | The Kelvin Club, 14-30 Melbourne Pl, Melbourne, Victoria, 3000, Australia
The Scotch Whisky Festivals are a time for celebrating the great uisge beatha (water of life) that we enjoy; to celebrate locally, we’re bringing our hugely successful afternoon festival back to the Kelvin Club for a second year!
For 2025, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is hosting the Whisky Wanderers festival, our iteration of the popular Scotch Whisky Festivals in which each Scotch region celebrates their history and flavour. This year, the SMWS has produced multiple cask-strength expressions to celebrate the Whisky Wanderers festival, and Australia is receiving 14x of them! All 14 casks will be on pour for this festival hosted at our beloved Partner Venue — The Kelvin Club — encompassing two floors of flavour and entertainment.
Tickets include unlimited pours of the 14x new 2025 Whisky Wanderer bottlings, canapés, and the option to add on complimentary micro masterclass sessions. We’ll have several whisky stations set up and guests can visit each to taste the drams on offer, with canapés roaming during this cocktail-style event. You’ll also have the chance to chat with SMWS Australia’s core team including Managing Director Matt Bailey who will be returning to Australia briefly to attend the festival.
Whisky & Alement will also be hosting their Historic Islay bar once again, which will feature Fèis Ìle and Islay releases from yesteryear (both older rare SMWS releases and non-SMWS releases), as well as the Never-Ending peated cask! Your ticket will entitle you to 1x complimentary Never-Ending Cask dram from the Whisky & Alement stand, with additional drams available for purchase on the day.
This is a huge free-roam event and an opportunity to try some of the exclusive whisky festivals casks coming into the country at similar times as they’re being tasted in the UK.

What to expect on the day:

A full festival featuring all 14 of the 2025 Whisky Wanderer Festival bottles from the SMWS and a range of bonus single-cask, cask-strength SMWS malts — all pours included with your ticket!

Micro-masterclasses every hour with our National Brand Ambassador Lachlan Watt.

Historic Islay bar by Whisky & Alement serving past Fèis releases and rare Islay drams, as well as the SMWS never-ending cask (first dram of which is complimentary with your ticket). Please note that extra drams on the Whisky & Alement stand are available as additional purchases on the day.

Billiards tables available downstairs.

Cold beer, food and more…

When? Saturday 21st of June 2025 — 2pm – 5pm
Where? Kelvin Club, 14-30 Melbourne Pl, Melbourne VIC 3000.

This event is available to both members and non-members — if you are not a member of the SMWS, we encourage you to come along and see what it’s all about. You can also purchase our ticket + membership option to receive 12 months of membership at a discounted rate.
