Blender’s notebook

In 1983, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society set out on a path to bottle single cask, single malt whisky to demonstrate that our national drink could be more than the handful of blended Scotch whiskies on every pub’s shelf.

That was 43 years ago, and since then, how many single casks have we bottled? Whatever the number, there are many more stowed away for the future that I am personally looking forward to, knowing what is maturing slowly in our bond. But that’s a story only time can tell.

In those decades the Society has had the courage to expand its horizons, while remaining true to its mission statement to “leave no nose upturned”, exploring world whiskies, grain whisky, rums, cognacs, armagnacs, gins, and since 2017 our ‘Heresy’ series. Batches? Blended malt? Maybe a step too far for some. And yet, after 43 years of breaking the rules, single cask, single malt whisky is still at the core of what we do.

But so is breaking the rules, especially our own! Before retiring earlier this year, Whisky Director Kai Ivalo had often talked about one of the more controversial things on his bucket list that he would have loved the Society to create before the end of his tenure. While Kai retired in June, one of his ‘scandalous’ ideas is behind Batch 44: Blender’s notebook, as well as always with whisky, fortuitous timing and a bit of luck!

So, which rule are we breaking this time? Here’s a hint: “If you’re going to create a Society Blended Scotch, you’d better go big or go home! It should be a high malt content blend with an old school character and pedigree,” as Kai explained to us on several occasions in 2025 and 2026.

Around the same time, one of our renowned cask suppliers got in touch and offered us something that they thought might be of interest: a sherry butt filled with the blended base of a now long-gone blended Scotch whisky, still at batch strength, that had been coasting in that sherry butt for a couple of decades.

And so, the universe provided. After some thinking, Head of Whisky Euan Campbell came up with a blend recipe that incorporated that sherry butt, some 27-year-old grain whisky and more malts around 18-year-old in bourbon, American oak PX and Spanish oak oloroso barrels and hogsheads. The blend provided a total malt content of about 70 per cent and a 60/40 per cent split in favour of sherry wood.

The decade long age spread between the components provided more complexity, along with a delightful silky texture. While this is the very first blended Scotch whisky the Society has ever put together, the concept remains otherwise true to the ‘Heresy’ range, only diluted down to a punchy 50% abv, a rarity for a blended Scotch whisky.

At full strength, this dram is bristling with decadent flavour impressions, like Madeira cake, sponge fingers dipped in coconut cream, candied pecans and chocolate-covered prunes on the palate, showcasing both classy, sweet American oak coconutty lactones and darker dried fruits and nutty flavours, as well as a taste of cocoa from the oloroso, PX and Spanish oak casks.

With a bit of water, everything turns silky, coated in coconut, orange, peaches and caramel before taking a detour through a herb garden, with marjoram, chervil and aniseed balls making an appearance. A drying finish lingers, tobacco smoke adding even more depth to the experience, speaking of age and long, classy maturation.

There’s only so much I can describe this dram, but ultimately it won’t ever get close to the experience of it. Complex, classy, rich and really unusual. It’s for you to figure out if you’re adventurous enough to get your hands on such a unique experimental whisky. Maybe you already like some blended Scotch whiskies, maybe you’re afraid tasting this one means you’ll like something that’s not strictly single malt. Either way it’s good to challenge one’s preconceptions and opinions on occasion, to make sure we remain honest and true.

While timing made it so Blender’s notebook is released after Kai’s retirement, he at least knew that this was coming as he green-lit the recipe. A fitting way to end your vigil, particularly for the Society veteran behind the creation of the ‘Heresy’ range: a constant source of experimentation and novelty that we have shared with Society members around the world since 2017.