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The SMWS
unveils The Blender's Notebook, its
first 18 Year Old blended Scotch whisky.
The Scotch Malt
Whisky Society (SMWS) has unveiled its
first 18 Year Old blended Scotch whisky,
marking a new milestone for the whisky
club renowned for its single cask,
single malt bottlings since 1983.
Released as The Blender's Notebook,
Batch 44 of the Society's award-winning
Heresy range brings together some
exceptionally well-aged whiskies,
including 27 Year Old grain whisky, malt
whiskies aged around 18 Years and a
sherry-matured blended Scotch base that
has been maturing for approximately 20
years.
Launched in 2017, the Heresy range gives
the SMWS Whisky Team the freedom to
experiment with blending, unusual cask
combinations and spirits from beyond
Scotland. The range has already
established an impressive reputation,
winning Gold for all three of its
entries at The Spirits Business's Scotch
Whisky Masters 2026.
At the heart of this new release is a
single sherry butt containing the base
of a long-discontinued blended Scotch
whisky, which has been maturing at batch
strength for around 20 years. This
provides the foundation for a blend
incorporating 27-year-old grain whisky
and malt whiskies aged approximately 18
years.
The contributing malts have been matured
in a combination of bourbon casks,
American oak Pedro Ximénez (PX) casks
and Spanish oak Oloroso sherry barrels
and hogsheads. The resulting blend
contains approximately 70% malt whisky,
with sherry casks accounting for around
60% of the cask influence.
The concept originated with the
Society's outgoing Whisky Director, Kai
Ivalo, before his retirement. He wanted
the Society's first blended Scotch
whisky to deliver the character and
pedigree associated with traditional,
old-school blends.
He said: "If you’re going to create a
Society blended Scotch, you’d better go
big, or go home! It should be a high
malt content blend with an old-school
character and pedigree."
The packaging reflects this traditional
approach, with a label inspired by
blended Scotch whisky designs from
decades past, complete with thistle
motifs and period-style wording in the
small print.
The SMWS Tasting Panel discovered aromas
of linseed oil, apricot jam tarts and
greengage plums on the nose. The palate
brings together honeyed melon, Madeira
cake and candied pecans, while adding
water reveals vanilla fudge and
traditional sherry wood notes before a
drying finish.
Julien Willems, Whisky Quality and
Sensory Panel Manager at The Scotch Malt
Whisky Society, said: "Heresy has always
been the Whisky Team’s playground, the
space where we can have some fun and
wander down the paths not taken, and it
doesn’t get much more out there than the
Society releasing a blended Scotch.
"Coming up with the label for something
so unique certainly was barrels of fun,
but as flavours go, there’s nothing
light-hearted about what’s in the
bottle. That well-aged sherry butt and
PX influence bring real depth and
character, the added bourbon casks and
American oak add a silky lift for the
malt core, all neatly tied together with
grain nearly three decades old working
as the mortar that keeps it all
together. But ultimately, it’s the
quality of the whiskies and the way
their flavours intertwine that makes
this blend so special, more than the sum
of its parts, and that’s what the
Society has always been about."
The Blender's Notebook Batch 44 is
priced at £80, with this one-off release
limited to just 1,092 bottles. The 18
Year Old blended Scotch whisky is
available now exclusively to members of
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society through
its official website
www.smws.com.
Membership is open to anyone interested
in exploring the Society’s distinctive
range of whiskies.
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