Scotch Malt Whisky Society Feis Ile 2018 Samples

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) was founded in 1983 by a group of friends lead by tax accountant Phillip ‘Pip’ Hills as a private members club. The concept behind the society was to source casks from all over Scotland which would then be bottled and made available exclusively to its members. Perhaps the most famous feature of these bottles are the unique codes. Each distillery is represented by a different number and the following digits indicate that particular release. That same year, the SMWS set up its first location in Leith’s Vault buildings in Edinburgh where it still stands today.

Feis Ile, also known as the Islay Festival of Music and Malt had humble beginnings. It traces it origins back to 1985 and the establishment of The Islay Festival Association after it was realised that an event celebrating Gaelic, music and culture would drive tourism to the island. The inaugural event was rtwo weeks of music, drama and workshops with ceilidhs, concerts and dances in the evening. The first whisky tasting took place as a festival event in 1990, and ten years later the island's distilleries began to be directly involved, organising their annual open days to coincide with it. Today it is one of the biggest events on the whisky calendar, annually drawing hundreds of revellers, and turning out an increasingly sought-after batch of limited edition whiskies like this.

• Bowmore 20 Year Old SMWS 3.307 55.9% 2.5cl
• Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old SMWS 10.141 59.5% 2.5cl
• Bunnahabhain 9 Year Old SMWS 10.146 60.1% 2.5cl
• Laphroaig 8 Year Old SMWS 29.244 62.2% 2.5cl
• Caol Ila 11 Year Old SMWS 53.252 57.8% 2.5cl