SMWS launches ‘whisky concierge’ for shoppers

In the run-up to Christmas, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) has launched a free ‘whisky concierge’ service in London, offering expert advice to shoppers.

The new Christmas Whisky Concierge aims to make the process of buying someone a whisky gift less daunting

The Christmas Whisky Concierge is hosted at SMWS’s 19 Greville Street bar and offers informal one-to-one sessions to those looking to buy whisky as a Christmas gift.

During the sessions, shoppers will be guided through the different flavours of whisky and have the opportunity to sample whiskies from the society’s 12 different profiles.

“Whisky is top of many people’s Christmas wish-lists but with so many styles of whisky now available, we know that choosing the right one can be complicated,” said Jan Damen, operations director at SMWS.

“At the society, we bottle whisky from different distilleries around Scotland and the world every year and we focus on the flavours of whisky. This makes it easier to understand and more fun for people who are often daunted by traditional regional classifications and distillery brand names.”

While the society’s London bar is usually members-only, it will be open to shoppers attending the concierge from 12pm-7pm, 23 November-29 December.

The SMWS has also released 60 new single cask whiskies for Christmas, which are now on sale.

Last month, whisky expert Charles MacLean curated a list of 30 discontinued whiskies for the new SMWS Kaleidoscope bar in Edinburgh.