SMWS CELEBRATIONS
A Society silver anniversary
Last year we celebrated our 40th anniversary – and this month, we’re marking the 25th anniversary of the opening of our Members’ Room at Greville Street in London, a home-from-home for Society members far and wide. Sarah Gillespie uncovers some of the venue’s history and hears from members who have appreciated it over the years
PHOTOS: ANDY BARNHAM / DAVID PARRY
In 1999, the SMWS summer newsletter ran a 70-word bulletin, the fifth item after various bits of celebrity and Society gossip. “The London Members’ Room is now in the final stages of refurbishment,” it read.
“The address is 19 Greville Street (next to ‘The Bleeding Heart’, for those of you who know this part of London), and opening hours are 11:00am to 10:00pm, Monday to Friday. It might be wise to ring before you visit, in case there are any last-minute hitches.” It was a modest beginning for the venue that would, over the next 25 years, become a second home for thousands of Society members across England and beyond.
ABOVE: The Bleeding Heart next to our Greville Street venue
ABOVE: A discreet gateway to the hidden delights inside...
Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, Greville Street was the Society’s first Members’ Room outside Edinburgh. It owes its existence to Anne Griffiths (then Cooper), who started out taking orders at the original Members’ Room at The Vaults in Leith. She eventually ended up conducting wildly popular Society tastings, in a touring roadshow that travelled as far as Australia and Singapore.
Her contribution to the SMWS saw her made a director in 1996. By then, she had met Robert Wilson – owner of The Bleeding Heart, a French restaurant on Bleeding Heart Yard, in Farringdon, London.
The name of Bleeding Heart Yard stems from a gruesome urban legend: in 1626, the wealthy aristocrat Lady Elizabeth Hatton was found murdered here – torn limb from limb, her heart still pumping blood onto the cobblestones (she actually died of natural causes in 1646).
Charles Dickens, while writing Little Dorrit in 1855, painted a more flattering picture of Bleeding Heart. “[It was] a place much changed in feature and in fortune, yet with some relish of ancient greatness about it,” he wrote. “There was a family sentimental feeling prevalent in the Yard, that it had a character.”
ABOVE: Original Greville Street member Peter Hughes eyes up a new release with the team at Greville Street
“We started off with two nights, then three nights, and then it went four nights of over a hundred people coming to tastings”
Anne Griffiths
ABOVE: Anne Griffiths was instrumental in setting up the Society’s London Members’ Room and was its first manager
The Crypt of St Etheldreda’s Church, where King Henry VIII married Catherine of Aragon in 1531, also faces onto Bleeding Heart Yard. As well as running the restaurant, Robert had just taken over the marketing of The Crypt. He suggested to Anne that she hold tastings there for the Society’s large London membership. “We started off with two nights, then three nights, and then it went four nights of over a hundred people coming to tastings,” she tells us. “So, then it came up – why don’t we open a Members’ Room in London?”
As luck would have it, Robert had plans to purchase the empty building next to the restaurant, so he offered it to the Society to use as their new Members’ Room.
“It was two stops from the City of London, where most of our members were,” says Anne. “It was a no-brainer.”
ABOVE: Simone Malavolta is the current manager at Greville Street
On 20 July, 1999, the Society’s London Members’ Room opened on Greville Street, with Anne as its manager. A bottle from Anne’s favourite distillery (4.65) was released to mark the occasion.
Fast-forward to 2024, and Simone Malavolta – the current manager of Greville Street – is looking forward to the as-yet-unnamed 25th anniversary bottle, to be released in September. “We are aiming to express within the name a bit of the flavour, but also a bit of the London establishment,” he tells us. “To mark our silver anniversary, it’s a 25-year-old whisky – something that our members are going to love.”
Along with the bottle release, Greville Street will be hosting in-person and online tastings and masterclasses throughout September to celebrate the anniversary. The main event will be The Gathering, with a five-whisky tasting that will include the commemorative bottle.
ABOVE: Philip Storry appreciates both the endless variety on offer at Greville Street, as well as the many friends he’s made through the venue
“We’re going to reduce the price of the tickets to very low, so as many members as possible can join to celebrate,” says Simone. “It’s all about the community and the people that have been supporting us for all these years – even longer than we’ve been here. They feel so emotionally attached to us; they’re not just whisky lovers, they’re SMWS lovers.”
We caught up with a few Greville Street regulars to hear their thoughts and stories as the anniversary approaches. “Greville Street has always been superb,” says long-standing member Philip Storry. “I’ve met many friends through the venue, because no matter what your differences you can always talk about the whisky!
ABOVE: The heart of the Greville Street Members’ Room
“We’ve had tastings on everything imaginable, and even tastings involving historical walks around the local area,” Philip adds. “If the SMWS is innovative, then Greville Street is at the leading edge of that innovation.”
Chris Davies, an SMWS member since 1985, has amassed an enormous collection of Society bottles, newsletters and other paraphernalia. From his home in Essex, he’s made regular visits to Greville Street ever since it opened. “For a period, I used to go in on the last Friday of the month with a friend I’d met through the Society, and we would drink up as many of the almost empty bottles as we could so that the staff didn’t have to measure their contents for the monthly stock take,” he says. “This became so regular that the bottles the staff wanted emptied used to be lined up on the bar ready for us.”
ABOVE: Members can attend a huge variety of tastings and special events with different pairings at Greville Street
ABOVE: A group of members take part in a tasting event at Greville Street
Due to Greville Street’s central location, it has often hosted famous faces – from chef Jamie Oliver’s team to Westminster MPs. SMWS master brand ambassador John McCheyne recalls one surprising encounter: “We were delighted to host the cast at the launch of The Angels’ Share film,” he says. “I made the offer to Ken Loach, the director, of SMWS membership and he said ‘thanks,’ but he ‘couldn’t ever drink the horrible stuff.’ And The Angels’ Share is a film about Scotch whisky!”
Peter Hughes joined the SMWS in 1991 and has since amassed several volumes of tasting notes, covering thousands of Society whiskies. He was the very first member to inaugurate the opening of Greville Street with a dram.
ABOVE: Greville Street has been bringing whisky lovers together now for the past 25 years
“Until Greville Street, we were just another stop on the SMWS roadshow, moving from one hired venue to another,” he tells us. “Once Greville Street opened its doors, we had access to everything on the bottling lists, so it was a complete game changer.
“Twenty-five years on, I still get a rush of excitement as I climb the stairs to the Members’ Room,” Peter adds. “I was there when it was conceived, and I’ve watched it develop into what it is today. I love the place, I really do.”