Our unique whisky…
Why single cask?
Whilst whisky is traditionally blended to create a consistent flavour, year in and year out, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society only bottles single cask, single malt whiskies, making each release an extremely rare expression of flavour ensuring our members receive the best selection of whiskies, rums, cognacs, Armagnacs, bourbons and ryes from around the world.
Single Cask, Cask Strength, unfiltered, undiluted, uncoloured, pure… only the very best ever makes it into the Scotch Malt Whisky Society releases.
A rare expression of flavour
Around 80% of the flavour in whisky comes from the cask it’s aged in and every cask has a completely unique flavour profile. Rather than blending a whole lot of casks together to create the same whisky each year, we celebrate the unique flavours every cask brings to the whisky.
It’s like having over 135 of the best distilleries in the world and being able to pick the best and most interesting whiskies from each and every release before they are even known to the public.
What’s with all the numbers?
The numbers on our bottles indicate the distillery and cask numbers each bottle belongs to. A long-lived “gentlemen’s agreement” is the root of it all because single cask whisky is so unique it would be an injustice for us to compare it to normal releases from each distillery.
Rather than getting caught up trying to work out which distillery each bottle is from, or getting caught up in it’s region, try using our flavour profiles to match each release to what you enjoy.
Whilst whisky is traditionally blended to create a consistent flavour, year in year out… The Scotch Malt Whisky Society only bottles single casks making each release an extremely rare expression of flavour.
The Tasting Panel
Leave no nose upturned
The modern method for these clandestine events is for people with a proven record in picking quality whisky to be invited to take part in a blind tasting of casks being considered for bottling. There is no direction for what should or should not be passed but the palates of those who sit at the table.
As the nose, taste and finish are all critiqued by each individual, the purely subjective tastes and aromas are all scribbled down by the panel head to form the basis for the often bizarre and lyrical tasting notes and descriptions accompanying every bottle.
Keep any palate entertained
Once these are decided a name is created, often from a unique quote or story one of the panel members told about what that sample reminds them of. Finally, a score is given by averaging those of the tasting panel members and if it passes the panel then instructs our cask manager to move ahead with bottling.
There is only one rule that must be adhered to by the tasting panel; that any whisky we bottle must leave no nose upturned.