Mitch is joined by Ria McAdam, European Marketing Manager at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, for a dive into the world of SMWS — who chats about the current chance for members to win an entire Distillery 10 Islay cask.
They get into the origins of the Society, from Pip Hills sharing cask-strength whisky with friends in the 1970s to the founding of SMWS at The Vaults in Leith in 1983, before moving into how it has grown into a global whisky membership community. Ria talks through the monthly outturn model, the coded bottles, the flavour-led approach, and the gloriously odd names that have become part of SMWS folklore.
There’s also plenty on what membership actually gives you, from access to exclusive bottlings and Members’ Rooms to tastings, guest access, content and whisky education. Ria explains the crazy current May promotion where buying a festival bottle or activating a membership gets you into the draw to win a full Distillery 10 cask.
The episode also touches on SMWS’s Scotland football-inspired release, A Belter for America, a 10-year-old Highland single cask bottled to celebrate Scotland’s return to the World Cup.
Links
Buy A Belter for America (28.118)
00:00 Welcome to SMWS
01:45 Origin story: Pip Hills
03:38 Global membership today
05:06 Ria’s role in marketing
06:27 How outturns work
10:11 Wild bottle names
11:52 What membership offers
13:19 Members’ Rooms and perks
15:14 Staff training and whisky culture
17:59 Ria’s own whisky journey
23:00 Events, outreach and content
25:36 Win a cask giveaway
29:03 A Belter for America
30:42 How to join and buy
33:24 Wrap up and thanks
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