SOCIETY MAKES IT THREE-IN-A-ROW WITH INDEPENDENT BOTTLER OF THE YEAR AWARD

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) has claimed a third consecutive top award in Whisky Magazine’s Independent Bottlers’ Challenge (IBC) competition.

The award, which recognises the consistently outstanding quality of their whiskies, is an unprecedented three-in-a-row for the title and a remarkable seventh time they’ve picked up the accolade in the past 10 years.

The Society also won the regional awards for Independent Bottler of the Year for Lowlands, Islay, Speyside and American whiskies. Their partner bars also picked up several accolades, with Campbeltown’s Ardshiel Hotel winning Hotel Bar of the Year and Dornoch Castle being named Highly-commended, while the Glasgow partner bar the Bon Accord won Bar of the Year.

The Society, which is the world’s leading whisky club, specialises in single cask whisky and takes a unique approach to their bottlings by celebrating the flavours across whisky through 12 flavour profiles.

Kai Ivalo, Spirits Director at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, said: “What a fantastic achievement for the Society, which we’re delighted to share with all of our members.

“Winning the overall title of Independent Bottler of the Year for the third time in a row is a huge endorsement for our ever-more creative approach to the whiskies we are able to offer our members, whether they are single cask bottlings, whiskies that we’ve additionally matured, or our experimental range of blended malt bottlings.

“We’re currently offering a wider range of whiskies than ever before, and this accolade demonstrates that we’re serving our membership well – and giving more and more whisky lovers good reason to join our ‘All Together Unique’ Society.

“Prospective members can look forward to even more amazing offerings in 2020, so it’s the perfect time to sign up and share our love for amazing whisky and good company.”

This Society’s latest award as Independent Bottler of the Year for 2019 comes on the back of a hugely impressive year of accolades, with a ‘best in show’ win in the recent Luxury Masters award as well as the Scotch Whisky Masters, along with top awards in the International Wine and Spirits Competition, the International Spirits Challenge, the Ultimate Spirits Challenge and the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

See below for the full list of SMWS winning bottles:

CAMPBELTOWN

12 Years & Under: Gold medal winner

Cask No. 93.119: Charcoal in a honeypot

12 Years & Under: Silver medal winner

Cask No. 93.111: Sea through the smoke

12 Years & Under: Bronze medal winner

Cask No. 93.108: Earthy and masculine

ISLAY

Winner, Independent Bottler of the Year

12 Years & Under: Gold medal winner

Cask No. 33.138: A thigh-slapping dram

12 Years & Under: Silver medal winner

Cask No. 10.162: Big wave sofa

12 Years & Under: Bronze medal winner

Cask No. 10.181: Feast of St Columba

13 to 20 Years: Gold medal winner

Cask No. 29.260: A visceral elemental experience

21 Years & Over: Silver medal winner

Cask No. 29.258: Remembrance of fruits past

21 Years & Over: Bronze medal winner

Cask No. 53.308: Let the Tempest tout an’ blaw!

HIGHLANDS

12 Years & Under: Silver medal winner

Cask No. 96.31: Poised and balanced

12 Years & Under: Bronze medal winner

Cask No. 123.31: Death by florist

21 Years & Over: Gold medal winner

Cask No. 77.51: Flower shower

21 Years & Over: Silver medal winner

Cask No. 66.145: Flambe away

ISLANDS (NON-ISLAY)

13 to 20 Years: Silver medal winner

Cask No. 4.249: The mermaid’s marmalade

LOWLAND

Winner, Independent Bottler of the Year

12 Years & Under: Gold medal winner

Cask No. 136.2: Paradise in a paradis

13 to 20 Years: Gold gold medal

Cask No. 5.71: Elbow patches and saucy librarians

21 Years & Over: Gold medal winner

Cask No. 50.109: Mangroves and marshmallows

21 Years & Over: Silver medal winner

Cask No 97.22: Emerald-masked triple thrill

SPEYSIDE

Winner, Independent Bottler of the Year

12 Years & Under: Silver medal winner

Cask No. 35.247: In a tabanco in Jerez

13 to 20 Years: Gold medal winner

Cask No. 46.84: Velvety complexity

13 to 20 Years: Silver medal winner

Cask No. 37.128: Big bold and boisterous

21 Years & Over: Gold medal winner

Cask No. 1.212: Beeswax on barrels

21 Years & Over: Silver medal winner

Cask No. 9.169: Enthralling and enchanting

IRISH

13 to 20 Years: Silver medal winner

Cask No. 51.11: Irish danger juice

13 to 20 Years: Bronze medal winner

Cask No. 51.13: Fifty shades of lemon

GRAIN

21 Years & Over: Gold medal winner

Cask No. G1.18: Pyjamas for the soul

21 Years & Over: Bronze medal winner

Cask No. G7.15: Mind-altering hugs

NON-SCOTCH

No Age Statement: Gold medal winner

Cask No. 139.2: A tropical affair

No Age Statement: Bronze medal winner

Cask No. 139.1: Chomping on a herbal cigar

12 Years & Under: Bronze medal winner

Cask No. 140.1: Cornography

AMERICAN

Winner, Independent Bottler of the Year

12 Years & Under: Gold medal winner

Cask No. 140.2: Shotgun whirligig

12 Years & Under: Silver medal winner

Cask No. 140.3: Nik nak woody

Notes:

About The Scotch Malt Whisky Society 

https://www.smws.com/

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#SMWS 

• The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was established in Edinburgh in 1983 and now has more than 26,000 members and branches around the world
• The SMWS bottles rare single cask, single malt whisky, and a range of other spirits
• The Society bottles single malts, unique single casks and exclusive blends
• The Society has bottled whisky from more than 138 distilleries from Scotland and beyond
• The Society offers a new batch of around 20 single cask, single malt whiskies every month
• The Society offers a variety of membership packages which can be tailored. Please see https://bit.ly/2uqKanT
• For more information about the Society, visit https://bit.ly/2HHiNyC
• Twitter: @SMWSUK Facebook: @thesmwsuk Instagram: @smws_uk
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