Against the grain
The Society was already 23 years old when it finally bottled its first single grain whisky – changing perceptions for something that had previously been neglected and under-appreciated. Julien Willems tells the story of how the SMWS came to embrace single grain
ABOVE: the Society's G1 bottling
Whisky flows into the green glass, filling a once empty bottle with the promise of delight and tales of camaraderie. Roused from its slumber in the comforts of a cask, it is as much malt as it is liquid history that lives in the confines of each and every new Society bottle. Each whisky carries at its core the echoes of its original choir of stills, retelling their tale as each single cask remembered it.
Whatever age the whisky, however long it was stored untouched, when a Society bottle is cracked open, give your dram a little time to adjust to its new surroundings. After all, it’s the first time it actually sees the outside world. Soon, though, it’ll start retelling its story, for only your nose and taste buds to hear. So it has been for 40 years at the Society.
And back in the early days of the founding, after the first casks were decanted into old lemonade bottles, the concept was so radical that things picked up speed with word of mouth spreading from Edinburgh around the world. Indeed, it seemed that everything was set for the Society to coast to cask strength success.
Bringing this single cask creed to a wider audience was innovative, especially at a time when blends were the status quo. However, despite the arrival of single cask delights from new distilleries on the Society’s shelves, there always comes a point where the new and exciting becomes the norm. Although the Society’s proposition has always been far from mundane, its creative spirit demanded new eccentric releases.
Long-time members may recall the whisky liqueurs made with whisky from distilleries 24 and then 4. It would probably not be to everyone’s taste today, but the Society’s suppliers had a large amount of available stock from these makes back in the day, so no harm done. There nevertheless seemed to be some clear red lines not to cross and notions that were utterly beyond the pale, with Society founder Pip Hills once saying:
“We do not bottle grain whisky – for the same reason we do not bottle bleach.”
ABOVE: the Society’s Euan Campbell and Richard Goslan touring North British distillery
In 1992, a curious member wrote to the Society Newsletter at the time:
Dear Sir, Being of sound mind and perfectly sober, I realise this suggestion may get me drummed out of the Society. But have you ever thought of bottling a straight grain whisky? I have tasted such a thing only once, at Macdonald & Muir actually, and it was many moons ago. I thought it tasted rather like Missouri corn whiskey, which I have never seen in the UK. I have heard that somewhere in Fife, one could buy straight grain. I have no idea whether it is matured; anyway, it would certainly be something different.
You might detect Pip’s hand in the editor’s reply:
A previous Newsletter recorded the Tasting Panel’s unenthusiastic reaction to five single-grain whiskies, sampled as an experiment. So no – the Society won’t be bottling any of this: it’s a different cratur.
And then came 2006. Anyone willing to take a guess at what happened that year? In a Newsletter appeared a mention of a brand-new bottling called “G1”. Yes, a whisky, but no, not made from malted barley, and not from a pot still either. Madness!
Erring on the side of caution, though, this first cask of grain whisky was not given the second part of the traditional SMWS code. So, no “.1” here. Simply “G1”, as if to say, “this needs not be repeated”, as Society ambassador Olaf Meier explains.
“At the time of this release, many members frowned upon this new arrival,” he says. “Many asked if the Society had finally lost its marbles!”
It apparently took some time to sell that first single grain whisky, but as you have guessed and probably witnessed, many a cask of the stuff followed and won a well-deserved appreciation among the Society’s members. Little by little, interest has built around these single cask, single grain whiskies, many malt die-hards discovering the delights of different ranges of whisky flavours beyond malt. And this is a journey I have taken early in my membership with the Society. How could I ever forget my first sip of G5.10: Sugar and spice and all things nice? The sweet, cinnamon, soft brown sugar and exotic fruit flavours opening my mind to a new realm of possibilities.
In the wider world, bottlings like G6.9: Listening to the frog chorus, G8.16: Butter-finger fudge, G7.18: A colourful oldie, G1.18: Pyjamas for the soul would also delight judges all around the world and earn the Society a proud tally of top awards in many a competition. So, despite our unholy affront to the gods of malt, I’m absolutely delighted to report we still haven’t bottled bleach. We’ve bottled cask-aged gin, it’s true, but I don’t see anyone complaining – more on that later.
When everything’s said and done, maybe that’s what it means to be a maverick, it’s not always about breaking the rules others have imposed upon you. Sometimes, it’s about breaking your own doctrine, if it needlessly limits your potential for adventure and discovery. In the case of the Society going against the grain, until you no longer do, as it were...
ABOVE: Julien accepts an award for the Society’s grain whisky in the Independent Bottlers’ Challenge