Whisky Talk

A taste of rum at a family gathering led husband-and-wife team Jacine and Paul Rutasikwa on the path to setting up their own distillery in the town of Livingston, near Edinburgh. Mads Schmoll paid a visit to uncover the fascinating story behind Matugga Rum and how it blends elements of African, Caribbean and Scottish cultures and heritage

Crime writer and whisky enthusiast Val has been a fan of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society since its early days, after receiving an educational journey across the whisky regions from a friend’s father who was something of an aficionado. Whisky Talk caught up with Val in an Edinburgh coffee shop to find out more about her whisky passion, her writing career and who would be her fantasy whisky-drinking companion.

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is marking its 40th anniversary with an updated and revised edition of Pip Hills' memoir, "Maverick – The Founder’s Tale", which now includes the story of 'coming in from the cold' after leaving the whisky club in the 1990s. Pip tells Richard Goslan about reconnecting with the Society and what we can expect from the new version of his book.

In this episode of Whisky Talk the Society strays from the familiarity of Scotland's malt whisky to the south of France for an insight into the world of Armagnac. Denis Lesgourgues, a third-generation owner of armagnac house Château de Laubade, paid a recent visit to The Vaults to tell a packed Members’ Room about the beauty of this underappreciated spirit.

How do you capture the sense of sound in a distillery and its location – and then incorporate that into a song? That’s what the team at Glen Scotia set out to do, with a whisky and music collaboration in its Campbeltown home. Whisky Talk caught up with the contributors to find out more.

With so many new distilleries coming online across Scotland, it’s sometimes hard to keep track. But when Angus MacRaild dropped the news at the start of April about his plans for Kythe distillery, it felt like time to sit up and pay attention. Angus has teamed up with partners Jonny McMillan and Aaron Chan to bring their vision for a new distillery that produces an old-style, traditional Highland style of whisky to life – complete with a fermentation of more than two weeks, a wood-fired wash still and worm-tub condensers. In their own words, efficiency is the enemy of character when it comes to their mission. Richard Goslan caught up with both Angus and Jonny to find out more about their mission.

Stray just a few moments from the M9 motorway between Glasgow and Edinburgh and you will discover Falkirk Distillery, a grand whitewashed building, complete with twin copper pagodas. Duncan Gorman sat down for a chat with co-founders George and Fiona Stewart, to discuss some of the bizarre obstacles they have had to overcome building the distillery from scratch - including complications from a certain Roman wall just a stone's throw from the site.

From East Lothian to Tasmania and back to Scotland, Craig Johnstone has worked across the whisky industry for the past 20 years. Today he works for Edrington as master blender for The Famous Grouse, a role he came to via a stint as a distillery tour guide, a distillery manager and a few years behind the bar at the Society’s Members’ Room at 28 Queen Street. Mads Schmoll caught up with Craig at the 106 Sample Room to find out more about his whisky journey.

Our guest on this edition needs little in the way of introduction to any whisky fan. Richard Paterson has been working in the whisky industry for the past 57 years, with more than half a century of his career spent with Whyte & Mackay Distillers. We were delighted to welcome Richard to the Society’s spiritual home at The Vaults in Leith recently, where one of the whisky industry’s biggest entertainers put on a special show for a room full of lucky members – taking us on a tour that included his stories and memories about Tamnavulin, Fettercairn, Jura and Dalmore. Whatever’s in your glass…settle back for a 90-minute epic in the company of the one and only Richard Paterson.

Women have been instrumental in making the Society what it is today. The three As of Anne Dana, Anne Griffiths and Annabel Meikle came from different backgrounds and hadn’t planned to have a career in whisky. But driven by a thirst for knowledge, an encouraging environment and an openness to new ventures, these women ended up shaping some of the most recognisable parts of the Society. Who better to speak to them than three women shaping the future of the Society today? Tune in to Whisky Talk to hear their stories. Anne Dana meets Mads Schmoll, Social Media & Community Manager for the Society Anne Griffiths meets Monique Ten Kortenaar, Society Ambassador for Benelux Annabel Meikle meets Rebecca Hamilton, Group Marketing Director

Port of Leith is Scotland's first vertical distillery, founded by Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher. Standing nine storeys tall, it’s just next door to the Royal Yacht Britannia and a stone's throw away from our spiritual home, The Vaults. As the distillery nears completion, the spirit of innovation continues in the development of their new Scotch, a process that Ian and Paddy began long before the distillery broke ground in Leith with research and experimentation on the role of yeast and fermentation. Mads Schmoll sat down with Ian and Paddy to find out more about what's ahead.

Outlander star and whisky fanatic Sam Heughan joins Vic Galloway in our latest episode of Whisky Talk Malts & Music. Sam discusses his passion for whisky, his appreciation of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society and his own plans for whisky and the wider spirits world. Tune in as Sam shares his thoughts along with both Society and his own Sassenach whisky, all paired with a suitable choice of music. Whiskies tasted and Sam Heughan’s tunes were: SMWS Cask No. 112.39: Tractors and old medicine / Toby Keith – I Love This Bar SMWS Cask 35.251: Elgin Marvels / Paolo Nutini – Through the Echoes Sassenach / Martyn Bennett – Blackbird SMWS Cask 53.318: Entropy meridian / Tears for Fears – Pale Shelter You can watch a video of the conversation on the SMWS YouTube channel here (https://youtu.be/6sKkTXFWAM8) Spotify link can be found here (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/75sE4HLHMMwlcECyNB8ryz) Find out more about The Scotch Malt Whisky Society here (https://smws.com/)

The origin of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society can be traced back to the founder, Pip Hills, visiting his friends at a farmhouse in deepest rural Aberdeenshire, where he first experienced single cask, cask strength whisky, served up from a lemonade bottle by a neighbouring farmer. Richard Goslan returned with Pip to his friends' farmhouse to hear them tell the story in their own words.

Glen Scotia distillery is a favourite of Society members, and we were delighted in early December to welcome distillery manager and master distiller Iain McAlister to The Vaults in December to present a fantastic selection of cask samples, along with an SMWS bottling from distillery 93. Tune in to Whisky Talk to sip along with Iain and Olaf.

At The Vaults recently, we welcomed Brendan McCarron, master distiller at Distell’s Bunnahabhain, Deanston and Tobermory distilleries. We recorded Brendan’s tasting, presented in full, with some strong language for good measure alongside strong whisky. Settle down for an illuminating insight into Brendan’s experience, knowledge, and some cracking drams from Deanston, Tobermory and Ledaig.

Karine Polwart is one of Scotland’s most respected singer-songwriters. She sat down at The Vaults with Vic Galloway for our latest episode of Whisky Talk: Malts & Music, to find out about her passion for whisky and what songs our selection of Society drams conjured up in her mind. SMWS whiskies tasted and Karine Polwart’s tunes were: G10.25: Whisky in a rum glass / Everything is Floating by Laurie Anderson 77.68: Curtain-twitchers teatime / Sarah by Declan O’Rourke 6.56: Tea tree tobacco leaves / Salt by Mugison 135.37: Pickle me timbers! / Apogeuma Sto Dendro by Alkinoos Ioannidis You can watch a video of the conversation on the SMWS YouTube channel here (https://youtu.be/kasN5M5sFbk) Spotify link can be found here (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/75sE4HLHMMwlcECyNB8ryz)

The name Dr Bill Lumsden doesn’t need much of an introduction in the whisky world – the head of distilling and whisky creation at Glenmorangie and Ardbeg has been a constant force of innovation and flavour development over the past 30 years or so. Members of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society were fortunate to attend a tasting conducted by Dr Bill at The Vaults in October, to taste some fantastic whiskies from Glenmorangie, Ardbeg and of course the Society….and also to hear his thoughts on everything in the whisky world from additional maturation, to non-aged statements, the use of sherry casks and a whole lot more in between. Here's part 2 of Dr Bill's presentation to SMWS members.

The name Dr Bill Lumsden doesn’t need much of an introduction in the whisky world – the head of distilling and whisky creation at Glenmorangie and Ardbeg has been a constant force of innovation and flavour development over the past 30 years or so. Members of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society were fortunate to attend a tasting conducted by Dr Bill at The Vaults in October, to taste some fantastic whiskies from Glenmorangie, Ardbeg and of course the Society….and also to hear his thoughts on everything in the whisky world from additional maturation, to non-aged statements, the use of sherry casks and a whole lot more in between. The Society’s spirits educator Dr Andy Forrester caught up with Bill for a quick chat before the pair of them hosted the tasting together in our Members’ Room.

Vic Galloway catches up with the Whisky Sisters – Inka Larissa and Jennifer Rose – in the latest episode of Whisky Talk: Malts & Music, to find out where their passion for whisky came from and what tunes their selection of Scotch Malt Whisky Society drams helped to inspire. SMWS whiskies tasted and the Whisky Sisters’ tunes were: Cask No. 41.46: Deep and dynamic / Jen: Mötley Crüe – Doctor Feelgood / Inka: George Michael –Freedom Cask No. 150.3: Conversation lubrication / Inka; Leonard Cohen – Dance Me to the End of Love / Jen: Led Zeppelin – Immigrant Song Cask No. 108.49: A particular kind of beauty / Inka: Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine / Jen: The Highwaymen – Highwayman Cask No. 113.60: Sweet Petrichor / Inka: Greta Van Fleet – Heat Above / Jen: Kate Bush – Hounds of Love You can watch a video of the conversation on the SMWS YouTube channel here (https://youtu.be/UA_v8zCc578) Spotify link can be found here (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/75sE4HLHMMwlcECyNB8ryz)

Writer Doug Johnstone shares four SMWS drams with DJ Vic Galloway in the latest episode of Whisky Talk: Malts & Music, with reflections on how his love of whisky inspired his novel Smokeheads and how these Society drams pair perfectly with music from Little Simz to Biffy Clyro. Whiskies tasted and Doug’s tunes were: Cask No. 12.48: Hoppy madness / The Avalanches, Since I Left You Cask No. 38.31: The magic is so strong / Little Simz, Point And Kill featuring Obongjayar Cask No. 44.154: Terra Firma / Spoon, Held Cask No. 138.12: Spice wreck / Biffy Clyro, Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies You can watch a video of the conversation on the SMWS YouTube channel here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9nyjpoWtRg) Spotify link can be found here (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/75sE4HLHMMwlcECyNB8ryz)