The Scotch Malt Whisky Society

In 1996, a share scheme for members paid for a club on Greville Street in London.^4,5 In 2004, the Society opened a venue at 28 Queen Street in Edinburgh.^4,5 In 2010, it worked with the Hotel du Vin and Malmaison chains to add whisky snug bars to their hotels.⁴ In October 2016, it relaunched in France with new partner bars in Paris.⁹ In 2017, it opened Kaleidoscope at Devonshire Square, its first London bar open to non-members, which has since closed.^4,10 On 6 March 2020, it officially launched its first Members' Room in Glasgow, on Bath Street.^2,11

In 2002, it bottled a whisky from Japan, its first from outside Scotland since a cask from Northern Ireland in 1988.¹² Many members objected to the Japanese cask at first.¹² For its 25th anniversary in 2008, it changed its bottle shape and added a longer tasting note.^4,5 In February 2017, a new look put the age on every bottle and added 12 colour codes for flavour groups.^5,13 In September 2017, after feedback from members, it stopped selling bottles to non-members.¹⁴ From November 2022, its owner's Masterton Bond plant at Uddingston did its bottling in-house.¹⁵

The Glenmorangie Company bought the Society in 2004.^4,5,6 On 31 March 2015, Glenmorangie sold it to investors led by the Society's executives, while Paul Miles was managing director.^4,5,16 Their holding company took the name The Artisanal Spirits Company Limited on 16 March 2016.¹⁷ In January 2025, the owner took full control of membership and marketing at SMWS America.¹⁸

Sources

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