Scotch Malt Whisky is the quintessence of Scotland, a golden thread that runs through Scottish history and sums up the land and the people. Not only is it impossible to replicate outside this small, often damp and chilly northern kingdom - and this has been tried, with varying degrees of failure - but it relocates the place of its birth in every sip. Peat-smoke and bog myrtle, heather flowers and mown hay, white beaches and salt spray: the scents of the island itself.

THE RANGE

As a Society member you have access to one of the widest selections of single cask, cask strength malts. We are currently bottling between 150 and 200 casks a year from over 100 distilleries the length and breadth of Scotland.

SOCIETY BOTTLINGS

The Society exists to celebrate variations from the norm, so members can enjoy the individual characteristics each cask has to offer in terms of distillery, age, finish etc. Once the Society has bought single casks from the range of distilleries, the respected Tasting Panel is responsible for quality control and takes the decision as to which casks should be bottled and when. From there, the Panel writes the Society's lyrical and often humourous (even controversial) Tasting Notes.

Remember, Society whisky is available to members only. Read about Society membership To find out more.

THE DISTILLERIES

The Society enjoys the confidence and goodwill of the whisky industry and supports it in any way possible. Sensitive to industry policy and to maintain an element of intrigue, the Society does not mention any distillery by name.

With this in mind, each bottle features two numbers: the first represents the distillery, the second the number of casks we have bottled from that distillery. The first cask the Society ever bottled was given the number 1.1. Our stocks and range of distilleries have increased over the years and to date we have over one hundred. So, for example, a bottle of 110.4 would mean that the Society has bottled its fourth cask from distillery number 110.

THE STRENGTH

The Society bottles all its whiskies direct from the cask, at full strength (around 60% alcohol). Whiskies bought in shops tend to be diluted and bottled at about 40% alcohol. Because dilution sometimes produces a slight cloudiness, the whisky is then chilled and filtered - a process which, while it leaves the spirit clear, can remove some of the constituents which give it taste and character. The Society does not chill-filter its whiskies.

THE CASKS

The type and quality of the casks used for maturing malt whisky have a profound effect on the flavour of the final product because each cask imparts individual characteristics. In commercial bottlings a number of casks are mixed together to combine these characteristics and achieve a uniform product. The Society does not vat its casks.

'CATCH THE JOY AS IT FLIES!'

By contrast, the Society exults in diversity. Each of our bottlings are from a single cask (yielding between 200 and 700 bottles only - depending on type of cask, its age and tightness). Thus the wonderful variety of aromas in malt whisky can be experienced to the full. It is important to remember that once a cask is finished it is gone forever and will never be replicated.