Long title I know but, let's just go with it. It was called "The gathering at the vaults". It was a meeting of the society and also an open invitation for people to join. As always with my blogs photos of the event are below. So let's begin. The event was hosted at a boutique hotel in Miami Beach, Soho Beach House which is quite eclectic and tastefully done. Walking through the hallways you feel a sense of mystery coupled with excitement. Think Alice in Wonderland meets Masquerade. It gives you chills. They have a gorgeous inner courtyard with a pool and restaurant. So that being said, I definitely recommend checking out Soho Beach House. Keep in mind it is tucked away in between some larger buildings and has a small, rounded drive. The event was held in one of the upper back event spaces. The staff was very courteous, friendly and easy to connect with (zero pretentiousness). So let's talk about the event. As per my usual, we showed up a little early (they were still getting set up) and got to enjoy a few moments of quiet before everyone else arrived. It was a solid event, the location was perfect, the outdoor decks provided beautiful views and wonderful ambiance. The venue space utilized two rooms connected together with wrap around decks, full-size sliding doors that brought a good breeze in to keep everyone comfortable. Hosting the event was Paul Skipworth, Chairman of Artisanal Spirits (parent company for the society) and Ben Diedrich who each spoke a few words about the society and the tasting. The tasting was started with a highball featuring the Society's Peat Faerie. It was light, refreshing with a taste of smoke. Truthfully, if they had not told me there was whiskey in the glass I would have thought I was holding sparkling water flavored with smoke. As the crowds grew they opened up the tasting which consisted of twenty-two single malts. We were also gifted the opportunity to taste a thirty-year-old scotch that was rich, seductive and luxurious on the palate. Comparing it to velvet or suede did not do it justice. It was dark and deep in color. A lovely finish that left you feeling as though you had been wrapped in warmth next to a beautiful, roaring fire. There were a few others that I really enjoyed but you'll have to read my husband's piece to learn about those. For me, the most interesting part of the evening was how they source and brand their bottles. The society buys from various distilleries and could tell you which distilleries the bottles are from but they don't, not directly anyway. This is where they differ from other services or groups. They put their own label on the bottle and get creative, I mean really creative with the names for each release. There is no regional listing and no names; nothing to hint at which brand or even region you are drinking on the bottle unless you know the coeds at the top of the label. And you are not just tasting from Scotland. You could be tasting from India, Japan, Ireland or even places like Taiwan. These creative labels ensure that you have no chance for bias. It's brilliant and a little frustrating because I had no list or notecard for me to keep track on. I know there was a particular pour I hated. It was like pure cinnamon water in my mouth but, I don't know which one it was. So at the end of the night, I had to really think about which bottle I purchased. The brilliance is that it prevents your internal biases towards a particular region or style from holding you back. This method encourages if not boots you outside your "zone" and becomes a sensory experience. You are there for the whisky and this ensures that you are focused on those whiskies; sharing the sensory experience with others. It engages you and pulls your brain sideways because you cannot allow any of your biases to dictate what you try or don't try. The entire evening you are talking with people, learning the history of the society, connecting over ideas about the society and the whisky. It removes all the barriers that would normally separate people like social class, politics, religion, culture, etc.. It brings us together as humans and allows us all to find common points on which we can all build. By now you know that I love it when I come across a place or activity that will connect people beyond the norm. This society is definitely one of those connections. Below is my husband's perspective on the event we attended which is a treasure because he never writes for my blog. Last night we attended an event hosted by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) in at the Soho Beach House in Miami Beach. The society is a private club of whisky lovers from around the world. It was formed in Scotland in the 1970s when a man named Pip Hills talked a Scottish distillery into selling him a cask of whisky which he shared with his friends. The cask was so popular that Pip and his friends bought another, and then another and then . . . they decided to form a club whose purpose was to unite discerning whisky connoisseurs with rare and unique whiskeys from around Scotland. The society now has thousands of members and acquires single casks which it bottles for sale exclusively to society members. The event at the Soho Beach House was one of the best tasting events I’ve ever attended. The venue itself was ideal for a whisky tasting. The event space included a pair of dark wood-paneled rooms that evoked an old British reading room or library. The leather-clad furniture and décor lent an air of class and distinction to the proceedings. The setting probably worked to enhance the overall experience. The society brought over 20 different whiskeys to the event with 10 – 11 bottles in each room. Their marketing team did a great job of providing information sheets describing what to expect with each taste. Each bottle came from a single cask with no water added – each tasting was at full cask strength. Since I had to drive home, I had to limit my tastings. I started with the Teuchter Dubstep. At 11 years from the Southern Highlands, it had a very light color – perhaps reminiscent of a ginger ale, with light legs indicating a light body. It had hints of fruit but was incredibly smooth for an 11-year-old. It looked its age, but nosed and tasted well beyond its years. Another standout was Warm as a Welcoming Hug. Aged 18 years from Speyside, it had a beautiful dark copper color, with strong legs and a full mouthfeel. It nosed and tasted deeply of dried rich fruit. I described it to another attendee as an inverted fruit cake – instead of eating a bunch of fruit that smells lightly of alcohol, you’re drinking a whisky that noses heavily of fruits. It was really inviting an warm, like its name. The bottle that really got to me was Smokers on a New Carpet. This 29-year-old Speyside Lossie was distilled when I was learning to drive! At 29 years, it was bursting with flavor. I nosed vanilla, but when I tasted it, vanilla and bubble gum came through. I’d never really experienced anything like it. This one is featured in the society’s vaults in Edinburgh. There were many others, that I tasted, and none of them were disappointing. We were so impressed by the people from the society and their wares, that we became members and put in an order for our first bottle – Warm as a Welcoming Hug. We look forward to future society events and re-acquainting ourselves with the many fellow whisky-enthusiasts we met as well as sampling more of their unique single-malts. Here's the link to the society's page, just in case you want to learn more or join and to the Soho Beach House. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society
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