insider.co.uk – Kristy Dorsey
May 1, 2018
Note from BevX- BevX’s Sean Ludford is a judging captain with the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
SMWS bottling secures ‘Best in Show’ in San Francisco, beating approximately 1,000 other whiskies.
International spirits club The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) has marked its 35th anniversary with a sweep of awards at one of the world’s oldest distilling competitions.
All seven of the whiskies entered by Edinburgh-based SMWS secured double gold awards at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2018. Founded in 2000, the competition is regarded as one of the most respected of its kind in the global industry.
Established in 1983, SMWS has bottled whisky from more than 134 distilleries during its time in operation. It bottles rare single cask, single malt whisky, as well as a range of other spirits.
In August of last year, the society also unveiled its first-ever blended malt , a sherry-influenced 10-year-old entitled Exotic Cargo. It was awarded a double gold in the “Best Blended Malt Scotch Whisky” category.
The SMWS also secured “Best in Show” with Cask No. 29.224 We arrived!, beating approximately 1,000 other whiskies to take that title. Euan Campbell, spirits manager at the SMWS, said the society was “delighted” by the accolades.
“The awards are great recognition for the innovative approach we take at the society,” he said. “Our portfolio of malts, from 134 distilleries in Scotland, is a unique concept and to be rewarded and recognised on this international stage is testament to the quality of our whisky collections.”
The society has more than 26,000 members and branches around the world, and releases a new batch of single cask, single malt whiskies every month. It is owned by a group of unnamed private investors who acquired it from Glenmorangie for an undisclosed sum in 2015 .
The full list of awards:
Double Gold Medal, Best in Show Whisky, Best Scotch, Best Single Malt Whisky, Best Independent Merchant Single Malt
Cask No. 29.224 Single Malt Scotch, We arrived! Islay, Scotland (55 per cent)
Double Gold Medal, Best Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
Cask No. Blended Batch 01 Blended Malt Scotch, Exotic Cargo, Scotland (50 per cent)
Double Gold Medal
Cask No. 10.119 Single Malt Scotch, The Chimney in a Beehive, Islay, Scotland (59.3 per cent)
Cask No. 30.97 Single Malt Scotch, Dancing on a Volcano, Speyside, Scotland (64 per cent)
Cask No, 4.229 Single Malt Scotch, Volcanic Jam, Islands, Scotland (60.3 per cent)
Cask No. 29.234 Single Malt Scotch, Smoked and Salted Toffee Apples, Islay, Scotland (54.9 per cent)
Cask No. 7.187 Single Malt Scotch, Sexy and Indulgent, Speyside, Scotland (54.3 per cent)