Awards & Testimonials
SOCIETY MASTERS BLAST
The Society’s run of awards success continues with a best-ever result in the Spirits Business Scotch Whisky Masters competition 2023.
Awards season is well and truly upon us and we’re delighted to announce that we’ve brought home a delightful haul of seven medals from The Scotch Whisky Masters 2023. That’s the Society’s best-ever result in this competition, made up of five Masters medals, one Gold and one Silver. The Scotch Whisky Masters medals bring The Society’s total number of awards since 2018 to 290.
Find out more about The Scotch Whisky Masters here.
MASTER
Single Grain – Single Cask
Cask No. G9.6: No Humdrum Conundrum
Single Malt: Highlands & Islands – Cask Strength
Cask No. 55.85: Passionate Desire
Single Malt: Speyside – Cask Strength
Cask No. 44.176: Blueberry bonanza
Cask No. 39.281: Decadent Dark Chocolate Cheesecake
Single Malt: Islay – Cask Strength
Cask No. 10.250: Peat Lover's Night
GOLD
Single Malt: Highlands & Islands – Single Cask
Cask No. 9.96: Stick A Wick In Me And Call Me A Candle
SILVER
Single Malt: Islay – Cask Strength
Cask No. 29.288: Elegant Extravagance
San Francisco World Spirits Competition
It’s good news from San Francisco where the Society has brought home a haul of accolades from this year’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC). The team of expert judges have awarded the Society 10 medals, which includes four Double Golds, five Gold Medals and one Silver Medal.
The Society’s award-winning bottles were:
Double Gold Medal:
Cask No. 4.346: Savoury and sweet
Batch 20: Whisky Baba
Cask No. 78.58: Baking easter treats
Cask No. 95.72: Beach bum meets courting mechanic
Gold:
Cask No. 3.346: Nothing quite like it
Cask No. 112.95: An aged classic
Cask No. 38.40: Sunny afternoons
Cask No. 80.39: Achingly beautiful
Cask No. 41.152: It is with a heavy toast, and a medium heart!
Silver:
Society Cask No. 68.88: Living Happily Ever After
Find out more about the San Francisco World Spirits Competition here.
IWSC 2022 Competition Awards
Members of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society appreciate the endless variety of bottlings that we offer up every month. The judges of the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) were clearly also impressed with both that variety and quality, with the Society scooping one ‘Gold Outstanding’ award, one Gold and six Silvers.
Cask No. 35.275: A desert island dr(e)am took the Gold Outstanding prize, while Cask No. 10.199: Norse mythology won the Gold. Our single grain Cask No. G10.29: Strathclyde Ambrosial was one of the six silvers, along with whisky from Japan in Cask No. 130.4: New flavours from a distant land and Sweden with Cask No. 145.1: A sweet kiss from a smoking mermaid.
The IWSC competition is judged by world-renowned experts from across the global spirits trade. Many judges are also distillers themselves, providing a unique opportunity for independent peer feedback.
Global Whisky Bar of the Year Award
We already know that The Scotch Malt Whisky Society offers incredible whiskies. Now the Society’s Kaleidoscope Bar, at 28 Queen Street in Edinburgh, has been named the Icons of Whisky Global Bar of the Year in Whisky Magazine’s World Whisky Awards 2022.
It’s an incredible achievement for the SMWS and the team at 28 Queen Street, who had already picked up the Icons of Whisky Scotland 2022 award for best whisky bar, allowing Kaleidoscope to go forward to the World Whisky Awards.
Kaleidoscope Bar is on the ground floor of 28 Queen Street and is open to both members and non-members of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. It has a huge range of ever-changing single cask, single malt whiskies and cask cocktails from the SMWS, as well as a curated selection craft beers, whisky cocktails and other wine and spirits.
From bartenders to brand ambassadors, from retailers to visitor centre managers, the Icons of Whisky awards are designed to recognise and honour those individuals who have worked tirelessly to produce and promote whisky and its industry around the world.
Luxury Masters Competition
The SMWS is celebrating its success in the Luxury Masters 2021 competition, with a combined haul of four Master and four Gold medals for both its single malt and single grain whiskies.
The Luxury Masters is chaired by Spirits Business and are aimed at finding and rewarding the finest luxury spirits brands on the world stage. The entries are assessed by a panel of leading spirits experts, judged in a blind tasting format.
In this year’s competition, two of the Society’s bottlings in the Ultra Premium (£100+) category that had undergone a period of additional maturation won Master medals.
WHAT OUR MEMBERS SAY
STAFFORD W. SHEEHAN
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT BEING A SOCIETY MEMBER? The whisky, of course. But more than that, access to the venues in London and Edinburgh and the excellent communities of society members and travellers I've met there who share a passion for premium spirits are spectacular benefits.
EDDIE MARSHALL
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT BEING A SOCIETY MEMBER? The obvious thing is the access to a large variety of single cask, cask strength whiskies. It's kind of liberating being able to select these based on flavour rather than being a slave to your "favourite distillery". It's exciting to think that you are getting to try something rare and unique, but at a reasonable price. Something that is difficult in the wider whisky marketplace. You get the most out of your membership when you attend tastings or other events and get to talk to other members and discuss the drams on offer or talk about what whiskies you like.It's the sense of community with like-minded individuals. Since being a member of the Society I have not stopped learning and having my horizons expanded. I always like to ask for recommendations in the Members Rooms and have rarely been disappointed with the choices of drams, many of which I may not have tried.
IVAN RAUBER
WHEN DID YOU DISCOVER THE SOCIETY? I moved to Edinburgh from Nabrežina some 9 months ago, to pursue my passion for Whisky and in a matter of weeks I discovered the Society and couldn’t help but get the membership straight away.
GEORGE KAMPS
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT BEING A SOCIETY MEMBER? The main thing I enjoyed initially was exploring the breadth of each outturn and being able to discover new and interesting flavours in whisky. I have recently begun to develop a greater appreciation for the community of people I am now a part of.
AMANDA CALLIS
WHEN DID YOU DISCOVER THE SOCIETY? Through my step-dad I enjoyed his collection from late teens so back in the early 2000's - I finally joined in my own right about 4 years ago when I visited the Queen Street venue and had an amazing whisky-filled dinner too!
SUSAN NESS
WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT BEING A SOCIETY MEMBER? Whisky! Visiting my friends who live in Melbourne and being able to buy them a society bottle in Whisky and Ailment, because I am a member! Never being stuck for Christmas gift ideas, whether it's to give or receive! The atmosphere as soon as we step into the society in Queen street and all our troubles are forgotten and it becomes all about conversations and trying new whisky. Meeting with my best friend, who shares the bond of loving whisky from her dad, like me. We have been friends for over 30 years and every year we meet over Christmas, birthdays and sit in Queen street like we saw each other just the other day and savour every sup of whisky we have together... And it's usually a lot!