Our Vaults Collection offers members the chance to journey back into whisky history – and we are delighted to offer you these exceptional bottlings from Islay which are AVAILABLE NOW to buy (Membership info shown below).

These drams will not only transport you to another place, but to a different era. We’ve delivered timeless twins, with a split oloroso sherry butt from Distillery 53 which we divided into an ex-bourbon barrel and an ex-rye barrel after 27 years, for a further four years of maturation. From Distillery 29, prepare to find a tropical flavour paradise, with elegant perfumed spice and ripe tropical fruits finding perfect harmony after 27 years of maturation in bourbon wood.

Keep scrolling to learn more about each of these bottlings, or WATCH our introduction below.

WATCH THE TASTING

VIEW ALL THE BOTTLES

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ

Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at here for membership information

This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

https://youtu.be/i4MDofjjdAY

Edradour 10YO

First mentioned as a name in 1837, but founded in 1825 as Glenforres distillery by local farmers, Edradour, for years, was the smallest distillery in Scotland for most of its modern life.

Bought in 1982 by Pernod Ricard and releasing their first single malt in 1986, the distillery is now owned by Andrew Symington, owner of Signatory Vintages. He purchased the distillery in 2002 and released all of the fun stuff from the warehouses. In 2018 a new distillery was commissioned and doubled the distilleries capacity, losing it’s smallest distillery moniker, but bringing the distillery into a new light and a bigger future.

The 10YO is a heavily sherried and rather complex prodcut for being bottled at 40% ABV. A distillery that had some unusual bias against, but luckily, good whisky can shine through any predisposition.

COMPASS BOX INTRODUCES

THE PEAT MONSTER CASK STRENGTH: ORIGIN STORY

The whiskymakers celebrate the smoky blended malt Scotch with a 20^th anniversary limited-edition release

March 2023: Scotch whiskymakers Compass Box celebrates the 20^th Anniversary of one of its most popular expressions with a limited-edition, blended malt Scotch whisky; The Peat Monster Cask Strength: Origin Story (RRP £105, ABV 56.7%).

The latest release from the award-winning Scotch whiskymakers will see 9,126 bottles available worldwide. The new Cask Strength bottle celebrates the origin story of The Peat Monster, which was first created thanks to Jonathan Goldstein of Park Avenue Liquors joining forces with Compass Box founder John Glaser for an exclusive release in 2003. The heavily peated whisky was so successful that it was released to the worldwide market in 2004 and has gone on to become one of Compass Box’s most popular expressions.

Today, The Peat Monster Cask Strength: Origin Story is comprised of Williamson Islay Malt, aged in refill American oak hogsheads (35%); malt whisky from the Caol Ila Distillery, aged in refill American oak hogsheads (34.2%), American oak bourbon barrels (17.9%), and refill puncheons (11.8%); and Highland Malt Blend aged in custom French oak barrels with a heavy toast (1.1%).

The resulting blend boasts “big blasts of smoke, cinnamon and tobacco notes,” according to the whiskymaking team. On the nose, find sooty barbecue smoke, green apple and powerfully aromatic citrus oils, all underpinned by warming cinnamon (the higher ABV heightens this expressiveness). On the palate, enjoy tarry, smoked almond, with the seasoned virgin oak delivering added richness and vanilla notes, plus seaweed, cayenne pepper and saltiness.

Compass Box further celebrates The Peat Monster’s U.S roots by recognising American coopers through a partial finishing of this blend, putting around half of the whisky in special barrels made from American white oak for three-to-four months. These grain-seasoned casks, created by the independent Stave Company, have been air-dried for two years and toasted using a highly technical process before being sent to Scotland and filled with grain spirit for one year.

Another nod to The Peat Monster’s American origin story appears on the label, which was designed by acclaimed American artist, Mark Burckhardt, featuring Dali-esque depictions of the monster against skyscrapers, subway steam grates belching smoke, and a hint of Central Park.

“It’s always been our mission at Compass Box to create compelling whiskies, even if it means breaking moulds – or creating new ones!” says Compass Box whiskymaker and founder John Glaser. “Thanks to the early collaboration with Jonathan Goldstein, we created a quintessential peated whisky that has gone on to become one of our core expressions, still beloved by whisky drinkers two decades later and one that we’re proud to be celebrating with this Cask Strength Limited Edition”.

Curious whisky lovers can find out more about The Peat Monster Cask Strength and other Compass Box whiskies at compassboxwhisky.com or follow @compassboxwhiskyco on Instagram.

Compass Box whiskies are available to purchase at compassboxwhisky.com, masterofmalt.com and thewhiskyexchange.com. 

ABOUT COMPASS BOX

Compass Box are Scotch whiskymakers. The word ‘whiskymaker’ is their word – it does not appear in a dictionary. For over 20 years they have been relentlessly focused on reinventing Scotch whisky, with every new blend designed to help make the world of whisky a more interesting place. They have not done it on their own and have collaborated with some of the world’s most visionary bartenders and designers to really push the boundaries of what is possible. They are always experimenting, always looking for sparks of creativity that will deliver something totally compelling, yet completely surprising. This vision motivates them as whiskymakers. 

ABOUT COMPASS BOX LIMITED EDITIONS

Compass Box’s Limited Editions allow them complete creative freedom, often using smaller parcels at greater ages. Each Limited Edition is one-off in nature. Every year, Compass Box creates a number of Limited Editions from very rare releases of a few hundred bottles to more accessible runs of several thousand bottles. Each one boasts a different identity, each expresses deliciousness in Scotch whisky in a different way.

It is often forgotten that blended brands make up more than 90% of the global sales of whisky. It’s a phenomenal amount of market share, and it is fair to say that if we ceased creating malts tomorrow, within the week, whisky would be on its knees.

There are the classic names, Chivas Regal, Johnnie Walker, Famous Grouse and many more, but there are some lesser known, wonderful blends on the market today.

Blended whiskies are often seen as the ‘Cinderella’ of the whisky world – certainly in the UK! They do all the work behind the scenes, keeping the industry ticking over and ensuring that everything is clean and tidy.

On the face of it, the Single Malts often take the glory and the limelight, being the sought after whiskies on the market. The ‘Ugly Sisters’, per say.

So, what is a blend, and how is it different to Single Malt?

The vast majority of whisky is made up of casks that have been vatted together to create a flavour profile. This goes for Single Malts too. Nearly all Single Malts are, in practice, Blends. The only difference here is that the whisky being used has all been created in one disitllery, hence the term ‘Single’ – this is a nod to the fact that one single distillery produced all the spirit.

With Blended Whisky, more than one distilleries products have been used. They are then combined with a product called Grain Whisky. Grain whisky was introduced to Scotch whisky production in the 1800’s when an Irishman by the name of Aeneas Coffey created the Coffey Still (now known as the Column Still) which was patented in 1831.

Grain Whisky is distilled to a higher abv than Malt Whisky, which strips more flavour from the spirit and allows the creation of a lighter, more consistent drink. The amount of Grain Whisky used in a Blend varies from around 80% for the mainstream names, down to 50% for some niche market and ‘Deluxe Blends’ (there is no legal definition of what makes a Blend ‘Deluxe’).

This allowed for the Scottish Whisky market to expand globally with consistent products and the creation of Blended Whisky was the true birth of our worldwide fame as a whisky producing nation.

Blended Malt

Blended Malt is kind of a hybrid between the two styles, Blended Whisky and Single Malt. Effectively this is a blend of Single Malts with no addition of Grain Whisky. This gives the producer the ability to marry together the flavour and mouthfeel of Single Malts and get the consistency and bulk volume of a Blended whisky.

The Future of Whisky?

With the prices of casks ever increasing and the tendency for these to be held for investment rather than bottling, Independent Bottlers are finding the release of Single Cask Single Malts every more challenging.

Many are now looking to create a consistent, Blended Malt to allow an affordable, yet top quality whisky to bear their name and help create a whisky to appease demand.

With Lady of the Glen, Dram Mor, Berry Brothers & Rudd, Mossburn and Little Brown Dog amongst the host of brands looking to branch into Blended Whiskies, expect to see more on our shelves. Grab one and enjoy!

So remember, the next time someone turns their nose up at your choice of Blend, remind them that their fancy Single Malt is probably blended too, and would undoubtedly not exist if you weren’t enjoying your Blended Scotch Whisky.

Brilliant Blends at Inverurie Whisky Shop

It’s hard to believe that we’re now onto the ‘Second Crop’ of Sowing Edition from Lochlea distillery!

This latest limited release was crafted from 1st fill ex-bourbon barrels located higher up in the Lochlea warehouse than the single malt that was used to produce the 2022 edition. The extra heat up high gives for a faster maturation and combined with the older spirit resulted well and is said to show a clear progression from the previous year’s edition.

It’s fabulous to watch Lochlea distillery grow, this latest release sounds like another great single malt from this exciting Lowland distillery.

Available now, limited to 1 per customer.

Slàinte

BUY NOW

Glenfarclas 35YO

It’s here! Glenfarclas are delighted to welcome their new 35 Year Old to complete the Red Door range. This is a limited annual release. The whisky is rich and decadent with flavours of toffee, chocolate and dried fruits – perfect for any Glenfarclas lover!

£869.00

Tasting notes:

Deep amber with hints of dark gold. Reminiscent of roasted almonds, dried dark fruits, and creamy toffee. Lingering aftertaste of cinnamon and cocoa powder creating a warm decadent finish.

Win two Tullamore D.E.W. whiskeys!

Enter our latest Golden Dram Giveaway for the chance to win a bottle of Tullamore D.E.W. Phoenix Small Batch and 15 Year Old Trilogy. Just buy any bottle of Tullamore D.E.W. 12 Year Old, 14 Year Old or 18 Year Old to be entered into our prize draw. Closes 24th March – good luck!

Read Our Tullamore D.E.W. Journal Post→
Shop Tullamore D.E.W.→

Our Vaults Collection offers members the chance to journey back into whisky history – and we are delighted to offer you these exceptional bottlings from Islay which are AVAILABLE NOW to buy (Membership info shown below).

These drams will not only transport you to another place, but to a different era. We’ve delivered timeless twins, with a split oloroso sherry butt from Distillery 53 which we divided into an ex-bourbon barrel and an ex-rye barrel after 27 years, for a further four years of maturation.

Keep scrolling to learn more about each of these bottlings, or WATCH our introduction below.

WATCH THE TASTING

VIEW ALL THE BOTTLES

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, The Vaults, 87 Giles Street, Leith EH6 6BZ

Contact: sales@smws.com or call 0131 555 2929 (Mon-Fri 9am-4.45pm). Visit the Society at here for membership information

This is your chance to join and to take advantage of their great offers!

Spot the SMWS bottles in this amusing You Tube video

Jura Distillery Trials Green Building Repairs

Jura Distillery partners with University of Hertfordshire and industry partners to test self-repairing building surface

Jura Distillery, home to the UK’s number one single malt whisky brand[1], will become the first building in the country to trial an innovative self-repairing limewash as part of the whisky maker’s commitment to sustainability within the industry.

The new coating, developed by the University of Hertfordshire and leaders in bio-based construction, UK Hempcrete, aims to reduce the carbon footprint of the island whisky makers, which will celebrate its 60^th anniversary in April.

The ground-breaking solution increases a building surface’s absorption of CO₂ and this project will be the prototype for a potential solution in building conservation, which could help many businesses in their commitment to a zero-carbon approach.

The beachside distillery is located on the Hebridean Isle of Jura, home to a tiny island community of just 212. Currently, wind-driven rain on the island weathers the distillery, which prompts annual repainting to protect the building. As well as disrupting production and tourism, which is a core part of the island economy, it also increases carbon emissions through the transportation of materials to the island and the fulfilment of the maintenance works.

This new, more-robust surfacing is self-repairing, which is expected to reduce how often the repairs are needed, therefore reducing the annual carbon emissions from the distillery.

The initiative forms part of ‘The Green Print’, the roadmap to net zero created by the wider Whyte and Mackay whisky house, which lays out the Scottish whisky maker’s vision for a sustainable future.

Jura’s Distiller Manager Jamie Muir comments: “The Isle of Jura is beautiful place to make Scotch Whisky, but it is not necessarily the easiest place be a whisky maker.

“When we created The Green Print, we laid out our commitment to make a positive impact on the local community where we make our whisky. This partnership with our friends at UK Hempcrete and the University of Hertfordshire will deliver a pilot which we believe could make a positive impact across the Scotch Whisky industry and beyond.”

The project has received funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, as part of the Design Exchange Partnership Programme. The trial will aim to establish whether this is a sustainable solution for the building industry long term.

Alex Sparrow, UK Hempcrete’s Managing Director, adds: “This collaboration with the University of Hertfordshire and Whyte and Mackay is a perfect fit for UK Hempcrete.

“This is an opportunity to develop an innovative new low-carbon product alongside the development of primary research at the university, and simultaneously see its application in a real world context. This fits exactly with our ethos of improving the technical performance of buildings in the real world, whilst lowering their carbon footprint.”

Whyte and Mackay – Award-Winning Whisky Makers

Whyte and Mackay is a famed whisky house, home to an award-winning collection of Single Malt Whiskies, led by The Dalmore. The collection includes Jura, the UK’s Number 1 Single Malt^[2], Tamnavulin, the world’s fastest growing Single Malt^[3] and Fettercairn, home to enlightened whisky making.

The Whyte and Mackay Green Print laid out their vision for a sustainable future as whisky makers. In addition each Whyte and Mackay distillery has been inducted to their Scottish Oak Programme, a whisky making initiative that seeks to harness the potential of native, local sourced, Scottish Oak in the whisky making process.

In 2020 the company was publicly recognised by the First Minister of Scotland for their support of the national pandemic response. Whyte and Mackay are official partners to SAMH – Scottish Association for Mental Health, which saw Whyte and Mackay employees worldwide complete a virtual-race-around-the-world to raise awareness for the charity.

Founded in Glasgow 1844, the whisky makers recently celebrated their 175 year anniversary, and were recognised as Distiller of the Year 2021. Today Whyte and Mackay have offices from New York to Singapore. In Scotland, Whyte and Mackay operate a state-of-the-art Bottling Hall and Distribution Centre in Grangemouth and a Whisky Production and Warehousing Centre in Invergordon – The Invergordon Distillery is home to Whyte and Mackay Blend, as well as contemporary Scotch Whiskies – Shackleton and Woodsman.

About the University of Hertfordshire 

The University of Hertfordshire brings the transformational impact of higher education to all. Its students, staff and businesses consistently reach their full potential. Through high quality teaching, 550 degree programmes, cutting-edge research projects and powerful business partnerships, they think bigger, stand out and positively impact local, national and international communities. For more information, visit www.herts.ac.uk .

The University’s Zero Carbon Lab is a unique interdisciplinary research group, where design thinking and advanced computer modelling methods are brought together to seek solutions to the toughest open problems in the urban environment.

Founded by Professor Ljubomir Jankovic to consolidate the multitude of ongoing work facets in this field, Zero Carbon Lab collaborates nationally and internationally with industry and academia to facilitate a wider take-up of zero carbon design and retrofit of buildings, and on wider societal sustainability issues.

UK Hempcrete – Innovation in Bio-based Construction

UK Hempcrete is an innovative market leading company in the UK, specialising in hempcrete and other bio-based, low- or zero-carbon products in construction, in both new build and retrofit contexts.

Its staff team has many years of experience of the design, specification and installation of lime and bio-based building products in buildings in the UK and abroad.

The company has pioneered several successful innovative approaches to the construction of low- or zero-carbon buildings, and is now working to scale up these technologies into the commercial sector.

The recent launches of UK Hempcrete’s in-house design and practice, Studio Bio, and specialist bio-based building product supply business Natural Building Store, allow the company to provide a seamless range of services to clients in all sectors, who want to build the true net-zero carbon buildings of the future, today.

[1] Nielsen UK Off Trade MAT 26.03.22

[2] Nielsen UK Off Trade MAT 26.03.22

[3] IWSR 2020

BALCOMIES CASK STRENGTH

LIMITED 2022 EDITION

Balcomie Cask Strength is a limited edition for 2022. This light, sweet and fruity Single Malt has been matured in American oaks butts which have previously been used to age sherry using the traditional solera system. This means that the harsh wood characters have been removed, resulting in an elegant whisky where the sweet spirit is balanced perfectly by the gentle sherry notes of the cask which nurses it to maturity.

TASTING NOTES

NOSE: Soft caramel fruit cake packed with sultanas, raisins and treacle.

PALATE: The palate follows on with the sweetness of pineapple syrup and cinnamon spice.

FINISH: Good length of crystallised ginger and hazelnut milk chocolate.

£61.00