Scotch Malt Whisky Society, February 2026 Outturn
Had another fun night tasting whisky with Liz, at the local SMWS outturn event in Chicago.
Posts Tagged "smws"
Scotch Malt Whisky Society, December 2025 Outturn
I love this photo, as it feels like an renaissance painting. Of note: Max and Lauren, with two drams each of the Hakushu.
Scotland, Day 17: Breakfast at Greenwoods, Browsing at Golden Hare Books, Drams at The Vaults (Scotch Malt Whisky Society), Dinner at Timberyard
A few hours and a super sketchy Uber ride later… we arrived at The Vaults (another Scotch Malt Whisky Society location, this time in Leith).
Scotland, Day 16: Breakfast at The Pantry, Drams at Bow Bar, the World of Harry Potter at Museum Context, MinaLima, Exploring Dunbars Close, Drinks at Scotch Malt Whisky Society (Queens Street), Anniversary Dinner at the Scran and Scallie
Back outside, mingling with the Muggles.
Scotch Malt Whisky Society, June 2025 Outturn
An interesting observation: I was tickled to hear the volume of the group go really loud, at the start of the evening. Usually, things get a bit more raucous around the second or third dram (as you would imagine), but tonight it got loud faster than I’m used to.
I was happy to hear the noise levels go up so fast, and also happy to realize that I had a certain expectation of cadence, for these events. I’m starting to feel like a regular.
Scotch Malt Whisky Society Tasting Panel, with Charlie MacLean
Normally, the tastings involve new releases… and everyone samples them together, trying to guess details like the age, distillery, flavor profile, casks, and ABV for each dram.
Tonight, we were part of a tasting panel that would give us the opportunity to rate and select the whiskies that we felt the Society should release next.
Scotch Malt Whisky Society, January 2025 Outturn
Fun bit of trivia: Mark is from Indianapolis, and his wife lived near where I grew up. He went to North Central High School, and was just ahead of me (he was a Senior in 1988, and I probably just showed up as a Freshman that year). He recognized Greenbriar, near 86th and Ditch, and there was a sparkle of recognition when I mentioned my parents’ old restaurant (the Golden Dragon). Small, small world.
Scotch Malt Whisky Society, December 2024 Outturn
As you can imagine, ours was quite the popular area after the tasting. It was lovely to see Lauren and Max again, and we met a ton of new Society members.
Franklin Room: Scotch Malt Whisky Society, September 2024 Outturn
Of particular note: as we were sitting down, one of the veterans (Michael)… shouted out that he wanted to sit next to Liz, because “she gets everything right.” He was referring to one of the prior events (the March outturn), where Liz was really spot-on with a lot of her predictions (the tasting involves trying to guess the age, distillery, casks used, and ABV for each dram).
Franklin Room: Scotch Malt Whisky Society, March 2024 Outturn
Fun evening – we got to sit next to Michael, one of the regulars. And if memory serves, Michael (along with the event host Elhan) was among the first founders of the Chicago chapter of Drammers.
It was really fun for me to sit back, and to listen to Liz and Michael go back and forth. I tend to be intimidated in these settings, as my palate and experience seem limited compared to others – and I’m always awed to watch Liz, who is very much in her element.
Dinner and Scotch with Katie and Tim: SMWS Febrauary 2024 Outturn
The tasting was a lot of fun, and I daresay the mini tastes we had afterwards were just as enjoyable. I continue to be awed at the generosity of the folks at these gatherings (Lauren, Steve, and Max in particular).
I’m glad Katie and Tim got to experience a society tasting. And doubly glad they got to see a bit of what happens, at the afterparty of sorts. Lots of really fun conversations, knowledgeable people, and an overall good time.
Franklin Room: Scotch Malt Whisky Society, December 2023 Outturn
Society bottle 125.7.
For those not familiar with the coding system, the first number represents the distillery the whisky is from, and the second number represents that number of single casks that they’ve bottled from that distillery.
Franklin Room: Scotch Malt Whisky Society, November 2023 Outturn
Recently, we’ve had the good fortune to taste several very incredible bottles that folks brought to share. And prior to tonight, Liz and I were debating on bringing something of our own to share.
After having sampled so many generous drams from others, we were wanting to offer something to the “group” at large. We ended up bringing one of the bottles we got from our visit to
Bunnahabhain, when we travelled to Islay back in 2021.
Franklin Room: Scotch Malt Whisky Society, October 2023 Outturn
Tonight we attended another Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SWMS) outturn at the Franklin Room – a fun event that takes place on one of the days the restaurant is closed, and we get the run of the place.
Franklin Room: Scotch Malt Whisky Society, September 2023 Outturn
I was listening to Liz opine about her thoughts on various drams. Everyone had their opinions, but as part of her guesses Liz would mention things like Sauternes casks.
As I watched and listened, it dawned on me that Liz really likes whisky and I just like to drink. I think my palette is getting better, but she’s really done a lot more research, paid a lot more attention to things. Watching her go back and forth with Michael and Max, she’s on a whole other level than where I am.
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