The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was founded in 1983 through a spirit of friendship – a small group of people who used the discovery of single cask whisky as a reason to get together and enjoy each other’s company.

As word of mouth spread about how good the whisky was, friends of friends started to get involved. That group grew to become a community, and then a club of kindred spirits.

We’ve come a long way since then, with more than 26,000 members across the world. But at our heart, we’re still that club of people who want to share their passion for a fantastic dram.

This year, we’re introducing a new monogram badge across everything we do. The monogram represents our heritage here at The Vaults but also celebrates our role above all else as a members’ club – a unique community across countries and cultures, united in our passion for sharing the best whisky and spirits in the world.

Introducing our monogram goes much deeper than making a cosmetic change – we’re working to bring your Society membership experience to life with the opening of our new Members’ Room in Glasgow, a refurbishment and expansion of our Members’ Room at 28 Queen Street, and with an increasing focus on how we can help to bring you together in person or online.

Whether it’s through hosting colourful Society events wherever you are, developing our network of partner bars around the world or building on the success of our first Gathering at The Vaults, everything we’re focussed on in 2020 will have the central aim of involving you in the Society and enhancing your pride in being part of the SMWS.

We want our members to grasp that they belong to a club that lives up to our billing as ‘All Together Unique’, not only in terms of the whiskies we bottle but because we’re a Society of kindred spirits and curious characters.

Last year ended on a high for us, with our unprecedented third consecutive accolade as Independent Bottler of the Year in the Independent Bottlers’ Challenge competition. We’re confident about continuing to bring you the world’s most exceptional whiskies, but above and beyond that we want you to share the joy of belonging to the world’s most colourful whisky club.

Our monogram still has The Vaults at its heart, just as it was in our original design, and the Society’s sense of fun and adventure that we started out with from here is stronger than ever.

Here’s to a fantastic year of sharing whisky experiences and amazing drams in 2020!