Whisky from SMWS makes for a Merry Christmas and Happy Hogmonany.
Merry Christmas and a Happy Hogmanay with Scotch whisky from SMWS.
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society has launched a Winter Series of four limited-edition single malt whiskies, each inspired by a defining moment from October to January. Celebrate the festive season with a dram or two by purchasing all four exceptional whiskies.
If you have been good this year, someone may be kind enough to buy you a year's membership to the SMWS. More about that later in the piece. First, let's look at the four seasonal whiskies.
The Winter Series returns this year, capturing the magic of the season in four single malt bottlings. From the crisp chill in the air at Hallowe’en to the joyful celebrations of Christmas, Hogmanay and Burns Night, showing off the season in all its flavours.
The series features four bottles with specially designed labels that celebrate the mischief of Hallowe’en, the warmth of Christmas, the sparkle of Hogmanay and the tradition of Burns Night. Each label is marked with one of the letters ‘S’, ‘M’, ‘W’, or ‘S’, and adorned with original artwork to embody the spirit of these celebrations.
The full Winter Series (£325) is available on the Society’s website, with the individual bottles released each month through the winter. The first bottling, Spirit of Hallowe’en, was released on Friday, 17 October.
Each bottle in the Winter Series is a limited edition, with fewer than 300 bottles available of each release. The Series features:
Halloween Bottle: Spirit of Hallowe’en (Cask No. 29.300) £89
Bold & Peaty whisky aged 11 years in a second-fill American oak PX hogshead.
Smoky and slightly medicinal, with notes of pastrami, smoked cheese, and eucalyptus lozenges.
Christmas Bottle: Mistletoe and Whisky (Cask No. 1.296) £98
Ripe Fruits & Honey flavour profile, aged 13 years in second-fill Spanish oak.
Evocative of cigars and martinis alongside sweeter notes of fruit cake and a bourbon Manhattan.
The SMWS has created a special tipple for New Year's Eve, or as the Scots call it, Hogmanay
Hogmanay Bottle: We’ll take a cup of kindness yet (Cask No. 59.85) £73.50
A Toasted Oak & Vanilla flavour profile, aged 13 years in a first-fill bourbon hogshead.
An unexpected opening of lino cuts and putty develops into sugared almonds, cinnamon toast and jammy dodgers, with a slightly spicy finish.
Happy Hogmanay with a bottle of We’ll take a cup of kindness yet.
The sparkle of the new year beckons in the New Year’s bottling. We’ll take a cup of kindness yet. It’s a time for new beginnings and for raising a glass to 2026 with this Highland offering from distillery 59.
TASTING NOTES
The nose began with childhood memories of linocuts, putty, and modelling compound. You then savour sugared almonds, rich tea biscuits with butter and honey. Gradually, the aromas of cinnamon toast and sweet, roasted malt fill your senses.
On your palate, the taste is sweet and nutty, rich and decadent, with notes of chocolate, hazelnuts, and Brazil nuts. The flavours of pralines, almond flakes, coffee-flavoured chocolate honeycomb sticks, and maple syrup swirl deliciously around your mouth.
The reduced nose turned jammy – jammy dodgers, chocolate swiss rolls, strawberry jam brioche and chocolate ice cream, with side orders of champagne and old books.
The palate becomes smoother and more rounded – bourbon biscuits, raspberry and coconut chocolate bars and vanilla milkshake, with hints of wood and spice in the aftertaste.
Burns Night Bottle: Sing thy name! (Cask No. 39.318) £73.50
Toasted Oak & Vanilla, aged 13 years in a first-fill bourbon barrel.
Lemon curd, vanilla custard and sweet nutmeg and cardamon make this a lively whisky, with a contrasting finish of bitter orange marmalade and sandalwood.
The Winter Series is available to buy here: https://smws.com/the-winter-series-2025.
Make the most of membership to the SMWS.
You could purchase the membership for yourself, or someone with great taste may buy it as your Christmas present. There are four options for the whisky that comes with membership, each costing £100. Below are details of Option A.
Mostly A:
You’ll enjoy the vanilla, oak and mouth-watering fruit notes found in whiskies aged in ex-bourbon casks. This type of cask produces a mellow, sweet, and rounded whisky that is as delicious in a dram as it is in a classic whisky cocktail. Ex-bourbon casks are ‘charred’ on the inside, leading to the beautiful golden colour of these whiskies, plus some notes of toffee.
Purchase of Society membership as a gift (with a specially selected 70cl bottle of Mystery Malt) provides the lucky recipient 12 months of access to the following benefits outlined below.
World-class, multi-award-winning monthly Outturns of around 20 new single cask, single malt bottlings in an ever-changing variety of flavours.
Members’ Rooms at venues in the UK, where you can sign in up to three guests on each visit.
Society Drams and Discounts in around 100 SMWS partner bars worldwide.
Virtual and in-person whisky tastings, events, festivals and other whisky experiences held at our Members’ Rooms, partner bars and other venues in the UK and around the world.
Expert advice and personal guidance about all our whiskies from our Dram-cierge team.
Exclusive access to Unfiltered magazine online every month, with the best in whisky writing and photography to inform, entertain and stimulate your taste for whisky adventures.
Membership card and lapel pin badge.
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society offers events such as the series of Hallowe’en tastings in October, with a spooky five-dram blind tasting at the Society’s Bath Street venue in Glasgow.
A night of poetry and whisky with Robin Laing at The Vaults in Edinburgh on All Hallows’ Eve;
A screening of The Shining with a three-dram tasting and cinema snack at The Dominion cinema in Edinburgh; a haunted five-dram tasting with a Witch’s brew and Society supper, served with hair-raising storytelling at the Queen Street Members' Room in Edinburgh; and a “Treat & Sweet” tasting at Bath Street, including three drams with a trio of desserts.
About The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS)
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was established in Edinburgh in 1983 and has 41,000 members around the world
It is owned by The Artisanal Spirits Company (ASC) plc
The SMWS bottles rare single cask and single malt whisky, exclusive blends and a range of other Single Cask Spirits
The Society has bottled whisky from 180 distilleries from Scotland and beyond
The Society offers a new batch of dozens of different single malt whiskies every month
Members have access to four exclusive SMWS Members’ Rooms in Leith, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London, along with a global network of 100 partner bars
The Society offers a variety of membership options that can be tailored
For more information about the Society, visit: https://smws.com/, Twitter: @SMWSUK Facebook: @thesmwsuk Instagram: @smws_uk