Get ready to gather
If it’s September, that only means one thing at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society – it’s time for our annual Gathering celebrations to get into full swing. And in our 40th anniversary year, we’re going bigger and bolder than ever before
For the past 40 years, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society has been a club of kindred spirits, where people can come together to celebrate the finest whisky in great company.
The Gathering dates back to our 30th anniversary year in 2013, and has grown in scale with events now taking place at SMWS Members’ Rooms, partner bars, in-person and online throughout the world.
This year we’re inviting our members to take part in our biggest party ever, to celebrate 40 years of discovery and whisky adventures. The party kicks off at the start of September and will culminate in our attempt to set an official Guinness World Record for the largest online whisky tasting on Saturday, 30 September. You can read much more about that and how to get involved here.
We’re also releasing a series of exclusive Gathering bottles this month which have been selected by the competition winners from around the world who we brought to The Vaults in February. They took part in a two-day cask selection Tasting Panel experience to choose a cask for members in their countries. You can find out more about the competition here:
The lucky winners have now ended up not only with their own bottle name and Tasting Notes for each of their exclusive Gathering releases, but even a photograph of themselves on the label. How about that for a prize?
We’ll be running the competition again in early 2024 for another batch of lucky members from across the world to travel to our spiritual home in Leith to select casks for our Gathering celebrations in September 2024 – so keep your eyes peeled for details of that coming your way soon.
ABOVE: Society members at last year’s Glasgow Gathering
ABOVE: The Gathering in the Courtyard at The Vaults in 2022
If you’re in the UK, you can download our Gathering events programme here or find out all about our range of Gathering events here, while if you’re in the EU, click here. Anywhere else in the world, check your local websites and social media channels for more information.
Wherever you are, we look forward to celebrating our 40th anniversary together with great drams and good times!