FEATURE: A TO Z GUIDE • 31 V


is for…


VAULTS, THE No A to Z of the Society would be complete without mention of its spiritual home – The Vaults in Leith. We are only relatively recent


custodians of the building; the site itself is one of the UK’s oldest commercial premises, reputedly having been used for wine storage some time before 1200. In 1753, the entire building was leased to wine importer JG Thomson & Co, which, by the 1930s had become a leading independent whisky blender. Over the following decades, however, the building became semi-derelict. The site was saved from ruin in 1983, when Philip ‘Pip’ Hills (see H) led a consortium to buy and repair it for the newly formed Society. The original decoration consisted of “two


fi replaces, a dozen sticks of furniture and an absolutely stunning rug”, according to former Society director Anne Griffi ths. It has clearly come a long way since then, but its heart remains the same, kept by the many members who have made it their home away from home.


W


DID YOU KNOW?


X


THE AVERAGE AGE OF OUR BOTTLINGS IN THE LAST 12 MONTHS WAS 15.4 YEARS OLD. THAT


is for… WATER


When it comes to savouring the full range of aromas and fl avours a dram has to off er, most experts agree that a drop of clear water can work wonders. Aside from cutting through any overpowering alcohol flavour, reducing the alcohol content with water is believed to change the solubility of various fl avour and aroma-aff ecting compounds in the whisky, eff ectively releasing them as new tastes and smells. There are no hard-and-fast rules around how


much dilution (if any) is best; it varies from palate to palate and whisky to whisky. It is best to begin by adding just a few drops, then discover how the character of the whisky changes with more. It is broadly agreed that Scotch malt whisky is best complemented by fresh but mineral-poor water, served at room temperature. Members in the Society’s Edinburgh venues use good


old tap water to dilute their drams. The non-porous rock in the local area produces little mineralisation and the quality is generally very high, making it perfect for diluting.


TAKES US BACK TO 1996 – WHEN THOSE BOTTLES WERE CASKED, THE MONKEES EMBARKED ON THEIR 30TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR, ‘MUPPETS TONIGHT’ RETURNED TO BBC1 AND THE SPICE GIRLS RELEASED THEIR DEBUT SINGLE ‘WANNABE’.


is for… AND AFGHAN COATS XMAS CAKE


… and the array of amazing names that have graced the front of Society whisky bottles over the years. From ‘Keith Richards meets Socrates’ and ‘Wild West


Cowgirl dressed in leather’ to ‘Kissing a Balrog’s Bum’, we could fi ll every page of this issue with these brilliant bits of witty wordsmithery created by the Tasting Note writers. Some are self-explanatory (‘Ridiculously rich and


flavoursome’), others are more evocative (‘A feisty tongue fi zzer’), while more often than not they are just brilliantly bonkers (‘Men wrestling on a pebble beach’) – but all are guaranteed to stimulate lively discussion.


Y TURKS Z ZEAL


The Society would be nothing without the passion, commitment, curiosity and uniqueness of our members and staff . It is your passion for whisky and everything that comes with it which motivates everything we do. Slainte!


CAN YOU SCORE A TRIPLE?


Q


Taking in the star square, what’s the highest Scrabble score that playing these three words can achieve?


ADVENTURE + EPICUREAN + QUESTIONS*


Send your answer to unfi ltered@smws.com The winning entry will earn a bottle of SMWS whisky.


* PLEASE NOTE: WORDS MUST INTERLINK THE SCOTCH MALT WHISKY SOCIETY


is for… YOUNG


The Society attracts some of the fi nest whisky people in the land so it is no


suprise that a number of our former staff have gone on to land roles in the wider whisky world. These young Turks include: Heather Greene, a Glenfi ddich ambassador in the USA; David Blackmore, a master brand ambassador for Glenmorangie and Georgie Crawford (pictured), now Distillery Manager at Lagavulin.


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