SMWS stops sales to non-members

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society will endeavour to preserve its “exclusive nature” by stopping sales to non-members.

The decision was taken following the society’s “most extensive member survey to date”.

Previously, the SMWS ran a Sample Subscriber service, which allowed non-members to by the society’s single cask whisky and other spirits at a 30% price premium.

The society removed this option yesterday (26 September) in order to “preserve the exclusive nature of the Society, and further ensure members’ access to the bottles they desire”.

Only full members of the society will now be able to purchase SMWS’s whiskies and other spirits, however non-members can buy special gifting items such as gift memberships and tasting glasses.

At the society’s venues where non-members are permitted – such as the Kaleidoscope bars in Edinburgh and London – guest visitors will be able to purchase a limited selection of bottles to trial after a period of member-exclusivity expired.

An statement from the SMWS to its members read: “We strive to continually evolve and improve to keep providing our valued members the service they desire as a part of our whisky-loving community, and we hope these changes meet with your approval.”

The SMWS, which bottles single cask whiskies and recently branched out into other spirits, revamped its famous green bottle design for the first time in nearly a decade earlier this year, introducing a colour scheme that “defines whisky more by aromas than region”.