“Orchards Ahoy” – CASK NO: 64.144
The Gathering is a celebration of what makes The Scotch Malt Whisky Society truly unique!
The festival is for all SMWS members, no matter where they are in the world. They can take part in events in person at SMWS Members’ Rooms, Partner Bars, venues and online.
10% OFF New Memberships!
Code: GATHERING10
The origins of The Gathering date back to the Society’s 30th anniversary back in 2013, when they celebrated this monumental moment with a party in their official birthday month, SEPTEMBER.
NOW 10 years on, as they celebrate their 40th anniversary, they are inviting members around the world to come together for the BIGGEST party yet!
All Together Now is the ‘rallying cry’ for The Gathering. It is a timely and inclusive call-to-arms that invites everyone for a celebration of all things that makes the Society special – the members and their love of our exclusive single cask whisky.
The Gathering bottles
Samantha Rothbart – selector of “Orchards Ahoy”
As part of their celebrations the SMWS have also released a series of exclusive Gathering bottles which have been selected by competition winners from around the world who were brought to The Vaults last February.
They took part in a two-day cask selection Tasting Panel experience to choose a cask for members in their own countries.
You can find out more about the competition in this video
Samantha Rothbart was one of the 13 SMWS members from around the world who took part in the competition and the SMWS has very kindly sent me a bottle that she selected – namely “Orchards Ahoy” – CASK NO: 64.144 to try. (Thanks SMWS – and Samantha Rothbart for selecting it!)
So, what did I think? Here are my tasting notes …
Tasting Notes: “Orchards Ahoy” – CASK NO: 64.144 (59.6%)
Distillery: Mannochmore
Age: 11 years
DISTILLED DATE: 5/12/2011
CASK TYPE: refill ex-jamaican rum barrel
REGION: Speyside
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Nose: Crisp apple with grilled blood orange, pears, toffee and a little sweet chocolate.
Palate: Orange, burnt toffee apple, lemon and lovely hints of Pineapple Upside Down Cake! All this and some flowery fragrances coming through. Finish: Intensely spicy, peppery, robust and savoury with slightly salted caramel. Adding water really brings out the spice and pepper producing a long, warming finish with some added sweetness for good measure. Overall: This is a great combination of fruity sweetness and heavy spice n’ pepper. Great on their own but together, much more than the sum of their parts. Lovely! |
Guinness World Record
As part of their 40th Anniversary celebrations, the society is attempting to achieve a Guinness World Record for the largest online whisky tasting!
The 45-minute, three dram tasting (50mls each) will be held on Saturday 30 September 2023 at 2pm BST
Sadly, all the Tasting Packs are now sold out but confidence is high that they can achieve their goal!
Once again, many thanks to the SMWS (@SMWSUK) for sending me such a fine bottle!
About The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS)
¥ The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was established in Edinburgh in 1983 and has 37,000 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 around 20 different single malt whiskies every month
¥ Members have access to four exclusive SMWS MembersÕ 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
About The Artisanal Spirits Company (ASC)
¥ The Artisanal Spirits Company (ASC) plc is based in Edinburgh
¥ The Artisanal Spirits Company (ASC) plc is building a portfolio of premium brands that bring together some of the worldÕs best spirits producers with a growing movement of discerning consumers by curating unrivalled collections of craft spirits.
¥ ASC owns The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) and in 2021 it launched J.G. Thomson & Co. Inspired by its namesake, which was originally a wine and spirits merchant in Leith, Scotland, in the 1700s, J.G. Thomson is a new, adventurous blender, creating small batch blended malt whiskies, blended grain whiskies, rum and gin.Ê
