MEMBER PROFILE
Tim Smith
Since falling in love with whisky during his university days, Society member Tim Smith has been fascinated by the twists and turns of the industry’s history. Taking his passion to the next level, Tim has now dived headfirst into documenting the untold story of Joe Hobbs, one of the industry’s greats, as Duncan Gorman writes
ABOVE: Society member and author Tim Smith
Tim Smith’s introduction to Scotch was during his time at university, where he managed to find himself with a few friends in the right places.
“Like many students before and since, university gave me an opportunity to explore and taste different types of alcoholic drinks,” he says. “Fortunately for me, I became close mates with a guy on the same course who was born and brought up in Aberlour. One summer, he invited me to stay with him, and he and his brother gave me a brilliant introduction to whisky and Speyside.
“The Scotch Whisky Trail was just starting out then [in the mid-1980s] and you could only visit a few distilleries. We went to Glenfiddich and Glenfarclas and tasted a lot of other whiskies in the region’s pubs, and I was hooked! I loved the taste of whisky, but also found all the stories and characters associated with the industry fascinating, and this was the beginning of a lifelong interest and passion. I have been an avid whisky explorer ever since, tasting everything I can get my hands on, visiting distilleries, and as a hobby reading and researching about all aspects of whisky.”
Naturally, Tim’s growing passion for whisky soon drew him towards The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, and it wasn’t long before he became a member. He often visited our Members’ Room in London, before moving overseas with work. Although having lapsed his membership, Tim’s now back in the fold, making the most of what the Society has to offer in Hong Kong.
“More recently, with my kids grown up and as I moved towards retirement, I joined the SMWS in Hong Kong, where Kelvin Tam [ambassador and development manager for SMWS Hong Kong] is brilliant. I have been able to visit the Society’s Members’ Rooms in Edinburgh and Glasgow and have come to realise and appreciate what an amazing institution the SMWS is. I have tasted quite a bit of whisky by now and can honestly say how impressed I am by the SMWS whiskies – the complexity and quality of SMWS bottlings is consistently remarkable.
“I really feel it is an organisation with integrity – there is no hype with the Society, it just gets on with sourcing excellent quality spirits, and sharing the knowledge and love of Scotch whisky. I am a huge fan!”
ABOVE: Joe Hobbs was one of the whisky world’s most colourful and interesting entrepreneurs, says Tim Smith
But Tim’s now taken his passion for Scotch whisky to the next level. Fascinated by one of the industry’s most influential characters, he’s engrossed himself in unravelling the complexities of the renowned Joe Hobbs.
“I had read a lot about Joe Hobbs in my whisky exploration and research over the years, and realised what an interesting character he was,” says Tim. “I read a comment on a whisky blog which said it was surprising, given all that Joe achieved over the course of a very active life in whisky and elsewhere, that nobody had yet written a proper biography of him.
“I thought this would be a brilliant project to take on – a good use of my time and energy, but also something I hoped would be to some good purpose, to tell the story of one of my ‘whisky heroes’ (of which there are quite a few!) and try to get the story of Joe’s amazing life better known, which I think it thoroughly deserves.”
Guided into retirement with the perfect pastime, Tim devoted himself to documenting Hobbs’ impressively packed life in his biography Not Your Average Joe. It tells the fascinating story of how the son of a bankrupt English farmer rose to be one of the leading figures in the history of the Scotch whisky industry, making two fortunes and losing one along the way. The book explains Joe’s pioneering exploits as one of the first military aviators during WW1; his controversial rum-running activities into the USA during Prohibition in the 1920s; his leading role in designing and building the city of Vancouver’s first skyscraper; his rise as one of the leading Scotch whisky ‘barons’; and his pioneering transformation of a derelict 10,000 acre Scottish Highland estate into the UK’s first cattle ranch during Britain’s ‘battle for beef’ in the lean years after the Second World War.
“In an industry littered with great characters and extraordinary personalities, Joe Hobbs stands out as one of the whisky world’s most colourful and interesting entrepreneurs, a man who packed more into each decade of his life than most people manage in a lifetime.
“Whilst individual episodes and activities of his life are quite well known, his fascinating and wide-ranging full life story has not been told before, despite the fact Joe features in Whisky Magazine’s list of ‘Top 100 Most Influential Whisky Figures’ of all time.
“At various times, Joe owned and operated quite a number of distilleries, including Glenury Royal, Benromach, Glenlochy, Bruichladdich, Fettercairn, Hillside/Glenesk [Montrose], Ben Nevis, and Lochside, rescuing a number of them from the real risk of demolition, renovating them and putting them back into productive operation.
“He was a great innovator, for example installing Coffey stills to make grain whisky alongside the pot stills making malt whisky at Ben Nevis and Lochside; and pioneering concepts such as ‘blending at birth’ (filling casks directly with a blended mixture of new-make malt and grain whisky) and ‘single blends’ (blended whiskies made at a single distillery). And he experimented with new techniques and materials, for example making washbacks out of concrete.”
Hobbs was known for his innovative approach to the industry, and in fact shared a few of the characteristics that the Society was moulded by: “Not all of his innovations were successful or sustained,” says Tim. “In that sense I am not sure how important Joe was to the whisky industry. But he constantly pushed the boundaries and challenged accepted thinking. He was in my view one of the most interesting and colourful characters in whisky history.”
Not Your Average Joe : A Biography of Joseph William Hobbs (1891–1963), Whisky Entrepreneur by Tim Smith will be published by Troubadour Books (£14.99) on 28 July 2024. To order your copy, click here
