The ultimate member experience
Samantha Rothbart was one of 13 SMWS members from around the world who won a global competition to travel to The Vaults in February and take part in a cask selection process for our annual Gathering event. Here, she describes the experience and what it meant as a Society member
PHOTOS: MIKE WILKINSON
PICTURED: Samantha Rothbart with fellow members at The Vaults
GATHERING TOGETHER
The group gathered outside Edinburgh’s George Hotel seems to have little to connect them, other than waiting for a taxi. But this seemingly motley bunch, representing 13 countries from across the globe, has one very important thing in common. We are all whisky enthusiasts. And more than just loving a dram, we are particularly fond of particularly excellent drams – which is how we find ourselves on our way to The Vaults, the spiritual home of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
We’ve been given the opportunity to take part in the cask selection for the SMWS Gathering in September. This worldwide event celebrates the ethos of the Society, connecting members through a series of celebrations and events, both in person and online.
To help celebrate the Society’s 40th anniversary, we’ll be choosing the Gathering exclusive bottle for each of our countries and writing the tasting notes. You might call it work, but I would happily do it for a living.
ABOVE: the origins of a future tasting note
PICTURED: Members capture the moment
SENSORY WORKSHOP
Over the next day and a half, we’ll be fully immersed in a sensory workshop, with seasoned panellists Julien Willems and Olaf Meier to guide us. We’re an ad hoc, visiting Tasting Panel, if you like. I suspect we’re all rearing to get stuck into the good stuff, but we’ve got to sensitise our noses and palates first.
Julien has set up a series of nosing stations. We’re smelling the whiskies blind and working in teams to agree on each whisky’s three key characteristics (and bonus points if we can guess which of the 12 flavour profiles is in the glass). The three minutes allocated to each station go by far too quickly as we trade different spices, confections and fruits in our efforts to give shape to those tip-of-the tongue aromas. Nosing is followed by the much-anticipated tasting. Intriguingly, each country’s table has a choice of bottles simply marked ‘Sample no. x’ – we’re going into this blind.
Olaf readies us for the exercise ahead and optimistically points out the spittoons to help keep our heads and palates objective. He is a true wordsmith and the man behind many of the whimsical tasting notes that give the Society whiskies their distinctive flavour. “Sometimes the team tells me I go too far,” he grins. By the time our own writing session comes round, I think we probably all have a moment where our descriptions have gone too far.
PICTURED: the nosing begins
PICTURED: Julien on hand to help unpack the tasting
DOWN TO BUSINESS
And so, the stringent process of selection. We’re not drinking (well, not all of us – I’m looking at you, France!). We’re assessing, reflecting and drawing on the deep recesses of memory to pluck out the perfect descriptor. This is quality control.
When speaking to some of the bar staff in the past, I’ve often joked about how hard their job must be, drinking whisky all the time. But it is. Without context, and only a gradient of colour to go on, it’s a puzzle – but one we are all more than happy to try to solve. Having made our respective choices, and after a brief break for lunch, the sight we return to is quite something to behold.
PICTURED: Olaf brings his experience to the table
All of our ‘rejected’ bottles are lined up neatly, tantalisingly, along the bar. In a delicious twist, we now have the opportunity to taste the other countries’ discards and decide if we want to claim another whisky for our country. A subtle shift in the atmosphere suggests that everyone is ready for some very ‘Serious Business’. Amid the swirls of amber, the popping of bottle tops and the constant motion of people circulating the room, bottles vanish and reappear with dizzying speed. But, somehow, we manage to decide. Some have stuck to their guns and kept their original bottles. Others have had a change of heart and been romanced by a more beguiling offering. Some have even used their spittoons to aid the decision-making process.
PICTURED: Decisions, decisions…
SOCIETY OF STORYTELLERS
With morning comes the note-writing session, and the opportunity to taste our chosen whiskies again. Only this time, we will also know which distillery our whisky comes from, along with how it was matured and finished. I feel mildly apprehensive – there is every chance I’ll look at the previous day’s notes and wonder what on earth I was drinking. But then, isn’t that what makes whisky so interesting? It is not static, but constantly evolving. In the bottle. In the glass. In the mouth. It should change. And we should find something new and unexpected each time.
Just before we enter the final stretch, we are treated to a history of the very first Tasting Panel by none other than Pip Hills, the Society’s founder. It feels an appropriate way to wrap up the trip. After all, this is a Society of storytellers and its delightful history of friendship, connection and good whisky is integral to what makes the Society what it is today.
The experience has been both intense and extremely rewarding. Being involved in the selection process has made me feel that much more a part of the fabric of this close-knit Society. Being given a unique peek behind the curtain has also confirmed my early impressions: that the SMWS is a polished operation that has built a reputation on quality and care. The Society provides a home for whisky lovers from all walks of life.
It is a cosy hub for friends and like-minded enthusiasts to meet. A place for solitude-seekers to relax with a meditative dram. A destination for intrepid adventurers to discover new flavours.
We all leave much richer for having been able to learn and connect with lovely people over some lovely whisky. It certainly won’t be our last Society visit (or our last time seeing each other, I hope). At The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, we come for the whisky, but we stay for the company.
The casks selected by Samantha and her fellow participants will see the light of day in countries across the world at our Society 40th Anniversary Gathering events in September