FATHER'S DAY DRAMS
Dram good dads
We all know the power of whisky to bring people together – that’s what we’re all about at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. The bonds are even more special when they’re between fathers and their children. In time for Father’s Day on 16 June, Sonia Raineri caught up with several members who wanted to celebrate the joy of whisky and fatherhood, a shared passion across generations
WORDS: SONIA RAINERI
SHELLEY CONNON: DAD AND DAUGHTER TIME
I grew up in Zimbabwe but my dad is Scottish, born in Aberdeenshire. Despite quality whisky being hard to acquire at times due to the political instability in the country and high inflation rates, dad always managed to have an admirable selection of single malts in his whisky cabinet.
I moved to Scotland for university and it took me some years to acquire a taste for whisky. I joined an informal whisky club where a group of friends take turns to host a whisky gathering once a month in our houses. That’s where I tried my first SMWS bottle.
ABOVE: Shelley Connon and her dad enjoy a dram at The Vaults
I had been coming to The Vaults for many years before I got my own membership as I came with friends who were members. I enjoyed coming in and chatting with the knowledgeable bar staff, learning a lot from them. The ambience, coziness and class of The Vaults captured my heart and it soon became my favourite place to try some new whiskies and catch up with friends in Edinburgh.
In 2022 my parents moved back to Scotland from Zimbabwe. My dad was a full-time carer for my mum, who had multiple health issues. After he arrived I brought dad to The Vaults and he too fell in love with it. I would regularly book us in as a means for him to have some respite from his carer duties, at a place he loves and feels comfortable – and also for us to have some quality ‘dad and daughter’ time.
We’ve also done some Scottish road trips together and inevitably find ourselves detouring to a distillery, always learning and trying to keep up to date with Scotland’s growing number of distilleries. We often share a dram together if I pop in to visit and it can be a really lovely way to relax and share a hobby we’re both passionate about.
PAUL CLOHOSEY: THE ‘12-WEEK SCAN’ WHISKY
I knew when I first met my then-girlfriend/my now-wife that she was the one. Cheesy, I know! On our first date, I asked her ‘How many kids do you want?’ A bold question but I wasn’t messing around at 27. She wasn’t deterred and said: ‘As many as my body and wallet can afford!’ A keeper!
A year later, my best friend shared wonderful news with me that he and his wife were expecting their first but how he broke the news to me stayed with me. He’s a Highlander and not a mushy-gushy kind of guy! So he always told me that if he was ever to share good news, he’d invite me around to his place and pour two drams of rare Glenmorangie from his collection. No words would be said but cheeky smiles exchanged and glasses clinked. It was a lovely quiet moment of pure joy where the whisky did the talking. I knew as soon as I saw him put his hand on that dusty bottle I was in for a memorable evening.
ABOVE: Paul Clohosey used whisky to mark a very special event
So I stole his idea! The next day I went into The Vaults and invested in a bottle of Cask No. 117.3: Hubba-bubba, mango and monstera. I don’t normally spend that kind of money on whisky but as I said, an investment! Seven years passed; three house moves, a small matter of a global pandemic and all the while, this one bottle continued to gather dust on my shelf. All my friends were familiar with the bottle. They too were itching to recreate that same moment with me in the not-too-distant future.
Last July, my moment – our moment – arrived. As any expecting parent will tell you, holding that scan printout is bittersweet but in the back of my head, I was thinking ‘I can’t wait to open that bottle!’ Sooo...my best friend, my best man from the summer before, came round to mine none the wiser. He was mid-conversation when I was through in the kitchen pouring the drams. I re-entered the room with bottle and drams in hand where he was stopped in his tracks. I’ll never forget that moment as the realisation spread across his face. The whisky wasn’t bad either! I then went on a spree of 12-week scan drams with friends and family for the next fortnight to celebrate the good news.
The ripple effect continued into August last year where another good friend and fellow member shared his 12-week scan whisky from distillery 10. Champagne is great in all but for me, whisky will always be my celebratory drink.
ALISTAIR WHITBY: A SHARED PASSION
I became an official member of the SMWS in 2019 – prior to this I was lucky enough to be the preferred ‘guest’ of my dad, although admittedly I was far less appreciative of whisky than I am now. Since becoming a member, my passion for whisky has really taken off, and I find myself deliberately seeking out distilleries across Scotland to further my knowledge of the spirit.
ABOVE: Alistair Whitby and his dad Stephen at The Vaults
The Vaults has always been my closest and favourite venue. The annual family Christmas visit is a highlight and something we always make time for. It’s usually one of the first things booked into the calendar in the run up to December.
Recently I have become a father myself as my wife, Alana, and I celebrated the birth of our daughter Robyn. While she won’t be sampling a dram anytime soon my hope is that one day she and I will be able to visit The Vaults and enjoy a whisky or two by the fire.
For me, visiting The Vaults (or any of the SMWS venues) feels like having access to another living room where you can relax, unwind and just enjoy a quiet moment while sampling the widest range of whisky (and other spirits) you could possibly imagine, with like-minded people.
Being able to fully appreciate this alongside my dad is something I cherish and always look forward to finding an excuse to spend an evening there. I would like to thank him for remaining so persistent in his efforts to show me the world of whisky, I am just at the start of my journey!
JAMIE BROWN: MEMORIES ACROSS TWO GENERATIONS
Trying to pin down what you like about a whisky can be difficult. Sometimes the sensations are familiar, in other cases they are new and odd. For example I remember trying a Society whisky which I could only describe, after many confused attempts at articulation, as metallic bubble-gum. But that’s what’s great about the Society – chasing new flavours and sharing the experience with others.
It was during one of these chance explorations that fellow Society member Justine Hazlehurst offered me a sample of Haig Dimple from the 80s. Like many Society whiskies let us do with single malts, it showed a different side to blends. This was a characterful, dirty whisky. On first nosing I was instantly transported back to my grandad’s flat in North Queensferry. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out why.
ABOVE: Jamie Brown takes a whisky-inspired trip down memory lane
My grandad passed away when I was quite young but my memories of him are mostly around smells and sounds. Older Dimple has a leather note, was it reminding me of his leather armchair? Was the (enjoyable) chemical smell like his linoleum kitchen floor? Was the faint musty smokiness reminding me of his pipe tobacco? I had no idea. While these seemed like plausible explanations it didn’t feel quite right.
I mentioned the whisky reminding me of my grandad’s flat to my dad. My dad has always been more of a rum fan, which helped my early whisky collection. When people would gift my dad a whisky, it would get stashed away – a stash I could raid when I was starting my own whisky journey. My dad explained that my grandad did not drink whisky regularly but when he did, say at Christmas and Hogmanay when I was more likely to be at his flat, his dram of choice was a Haig Dimple.
So the mystery was solved. But the experience showed me the power of smell and memory, and the nostalgia a simple dram could create. This dram made me feel close to my grandad, despite only knowing him as a small child. It made me realise that when we smell and taste whisky, and importantly share the experience with others, we can gain more understanding and appreciation of not just whisky but ourselves and those we share it with.
I hope that in years to come my own son, who turns one this month, is reminded of me when he appreciates an occasional dram with a friend – even if he can’t fully figure out why.
MICHAEL ASHLEY: THREE GENERATIONS OF SOCIETY MEMBERS
My wife bought me membership as a Christmas present around 30 years ago. Now every weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we have a decent portion of malt. We avoid having larger ones too often, on the basis not to be too rough the next day so we can still manage more whisky.
My daughter Sarah went to Edinburgh University and when it came to her graduation, we stayed in the flats above The Vaults so we could refresh ourselves. She then went to Japan for a couple of years, and we gifted her a membership for her first birthday back. We’re quite lucky, her husband also likes malt whisky so we can all sit around a bottle and appreciate it.
My son likes whisky, he always has whisky in, but I wouldn’t call him a whisky aficionado. But since then, the genes have been reinforced in his daughter Elizabeth. It must be in the genes I suppose – it’s not that we’ve been persuasive to make them like it!
ABOVE: Michael Ashley and his granddaughter Elizabeth