The Scotch Malt Whisky Society Wraps Up Busy Year With Festive Gift Pack, Launch Of New Creators Collection Series & Expanded Cask Programme

The world’s leading whisky club, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS), is wrapping up 2024 with a festive flurry of activity including a Christmas-themed tasting pack, launching a brand-new premium series called The Creators Collection with a set of limited-edition aged peated whiskies, and expanding its 50th Anniversary Cask Club programme.

The SMWS, which was founded in Edinburgh in 1983 by a group of whisky-loving friends and now has around 40,000 members worldwide, is spreading festive cheer with the release of a new gift tasting pack called A Dram Good Christmas tasting pack (£39): This festive pack features three 50ml bottles of the Society’s limited-edition single malt whisky, each with a fun, flavour-focused name and entertaining tasting notes.

The Society has also today unveiled the first instalment of a new series called The Creators Collection with Peat Plants, a set of four premium, limited-edition aged peated single malt whiskies. Each whisky in the set features unique labels inspired by Scotland’s diverse natural landscapes and celebrates the rich variety of flavours within peated whisky.

Available from November 22, the collection includes:

• Fern & Flame (26-years old): Inspired by Highland ferns, this whisky offers earthy notes with a balanced smokiness.
• Peat Bloom (33-years old): A complex blend of smoke and maritime saltiness reminiscent of coastal landscapes.
• Moss & Mist (25-years old): Evoking Islay’s damp, misty bogs, it features medicinal peatiness and rich depth.
• Heather Ember (25-years old): Capturing the floral hints of Orkney’s heather, it delivers a subtle sweetness interwoven with smoke.

The full set is priced at £1300, with individual bottles ranging from £195 to £425. Peat Plants marks the beginning of The Creators Collection series which will explore unique flavour stories and whisky-making techniques over the coming months.

Finally, due to high demand, the SMWS has added a very limited number of new casks to its 50th Anniversary Cask Club programme. This initiative offers members the rare opportunity to own an entire cask, experience the maturation process until the Society’s 50th anniversary in 2033, and create their own bespoke bottlings.

The newly added casks, sourced from distilleries in Islay, the Highlands and the southern Highlands, include peated and unpeated options with cask styles such as Ex-Bourbon, Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez. Prices start at £4,000, with additional costs payable at bottling in 2033.

Euan Campbell, Head of Whisky Creation at the SMWS, said: “2024 has been another busy year for the SMWS and we are wrapping it up on a high with the launch of our festive releases, the unveiling our of new Creators Collection with a set of exceptional aged peated whiskies, and the expansion of our 50th Anniversary Cask Club.

“These new releases all reflect our mission to explore the diversity of flavour in whisky and provide whisky fans with unique and memorable experiences. From festive flavours to the joys of peated whiskies and the opportunity to own an entire cask, there’s something special for every whisky fan to enjoy.”

For more information about these releases and SMWS membership, visit smws.com