The Society
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) was founded in Edinburgh in 1983 and is an organisation that bottles and sells single cask, single malt whisky for its members.
They buy individual casks from more than 140 malt whisky distilleries in Scotland and around the world. The SMWS also have many private members’ rooms both in the UK and internationally.
The casks that the Society bottle are subject to approval by their Tasting Panel. The Tasting Panel give each bottling a quaint set of tasting notes which indicate what flavours and textures the drinker can expect along with a descriptive and often creative name.
The resulting ‘outturn’ of each cask is given a unique, two-part numerical identifier (or code) The first part represents the originating distillery and second the individual cask from which the bottle was taken.
E.g: 2.35 represents the 35th cask acquired from distillery number 2.
Society bottlings are always referred to using this numerical code, rather than by the distillery name, as individual casks are unique and, therefore, may not always be representative of the whisky ordinarily produced by that distillery.
The Tool
Us whisky drinkers often want to know exactly what we’re drinking and exactly where it came from. Some of us have favourite distilleries based on their typical spirit character or whisky style.
I’ve often found myself trying to look up the distillery code to establish the origin. I struggled to find the information and certainly not in a format that can be easily searched on a mobile device (in the middle of an SMWS tasting or on the go at a festival).
I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to make something potentially useful that is related to one of my interests. Alas, I’ve built a tool that you can use to find out what distillery an SMWS bottling comes from, enjoy!
It’s very much a work in progress, so constructive feedback is welcome.
TL;DR (Too Long, Didn’t Read)
The SMWS sell great, quality, cask strength whisky and I’m a passionate developer.
I couldn’t pass on the opportunity to make something potentially useful that is related to one of my interests. I’ve built a tool that you can use to find out what distillery an SMWS bottling comes from, enjoy!
P.S. It’s not perfect and I welcome your feedback