The Scotch Malt Whisky Society stocks its bar with drinks you generally can’t buy off-the-shelf in normal shops. Here you will taste three such whiskies while being guided through the flavours and the processes that created them. The host indulges in a fair amount of self-history and spends a considerable time describing nosing techniques, interspersed with occasionally rambling anecdotes.
If you are not already partial to a dram, don’t expect to be converted. All three bottles are severe and unforgiving, it’s not an evangelical introduction for the masses so much as a wake-up call for casual drinkers. One is bitter and zesty, the next is buttery, and the third is intensely peaty. If this makes no sense to you then the entire affair is a big gamble.
Although the selection is intriguing it is also the event’s Achilles heel. The essential problem is that three is far too small a number to span the range of flavours that whisky offers and the Society should seriously consider serving smaller portions to accommodate the exploration. There is also a serious risk of getting stuck with a sizeable glass of something you particularly dislike.
A side-effect also of the limited selection is that there is too much time per glass and the host ends up rambling about whisky in general rather than those at hand. The significance of the particular drinks dwindles and frankly you might as well go directly to the bar, order three at random, and chat to the staff.
With its modest scope and immature execution, it is impossible to recommend this event to anyone other than a whisky fan.
2/5 
Bernie Greenwood
(4 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
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