The Scotch Malt Whiskey Society (SMWS) takes its single malt very seriously.
The 25-year old UK-based company, with 12 chapters and 35,000 members worldwide and now opening in India, sells handpicked bottled single cask malt whiskey from 120 specific distilleries around the globe. The society describes itself as ‘non-conformist in the world of whisky,’ on account on how their whiskies are bottled. Where the taste of branded, bottled whiskey is a blend of many casks, the SMWS only bottles single cask, single malt whiskey. The whiskey bottled thus carries the SMWS brand name, and is distributed exclusively through its membership.
(Right) Bottled up: 16 varieties of SMWS whiskey will be available initially. (Left) Caskaway: One of the 300 limited edition SMWS casks
“We have more than 300 varieties of SMWS-branded whiskey. They’re all limited edition, and our focus is on the taste and multi-layered experience of drinking single-malt,” says Raghuraj Kanudia, the head of the India chapter.
The society, however, is more a forum than an informal gathering—membership is presently invitation only, and Kanudia plans to grow through word-of-mouth, and special events with SMWS whiskey on show.
“We’re planning food pairings, company events, and we encourage our members to have a selection of SMWS single cask whiskey at their own occasions,” he says. Sixteen of those 300 varieties will be initially available in India, with the range extended to around double that number by the end of 2009.
To contact the India chapter of the SMWS, call 0124-4030430 or email enquiry@smws.co.in