By
Jeremy Webb
on
19th December 2025
With Christmas around the corner, Jeremy Webb takes a deep dive into The Scotch Malt Whisky Society's Winter Series. Discover his honest verdict below.
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) has launched a Winter Series of four limited-edition single malt whiskies, each inspired by a defining moment from October to January. Celebrate the festive season with a dram or two by purchasing all four exceptional whiskies.
If you have been good this year, someone may be kind enough to buy you a year's membership to the SMWS. (More about that later in the piece...). First, let's take a closer look at the four seasonal whiskies.
The Winter Series in Detail:
The Winter Series returns this year, capturing the magic of the season in four single malt bottlings. From the thrill of Hallowe’en to the joyful celebrations of Christmas, Hogmanay and Burns Night, the series shows off the autumnal season in all its flavours.
The series features four bottles with specially-designed labels that encapsulate the mischief of Hallowe’en, the warmth of Christmas, the sparkle of Hogmanay and the tradition of Burns Night. Each label is marked with one of the letters ‘S’, ‘M’, ‘W’, or ‘S’, and adorned with original artwork to embody the spirit of these celebrations.
The full Winter Series (£325) is available on the Society’s website, with the individual bottles released each month throughout winter. The first bottling, Spirit of Hallowe’en, was released on 17 October.
Each bottle in the Winter Series is a limited edition, with fewer than 300 bottles available of each release.
The Series features:
The SMWS has created a special tipple for New Year's Eve, or as the Scots call it, Hogmanay. It’s a time for new beginnings and for raising a glass to 2026 with this Highland offering from distillery 59.
Tasting notes for the Hogmanay:
The nose opened with childhood memories of linocuts, putty, and modelling compound. You then start to savour sugared almonds, and rich tea biscuits with butter and honey. Gradually, aromas of cinnamon toast and sweet, roasted malt fill your senses.
On the palate, the taste is sweet, nutty, rich, and decadent, with notes of chocolate, hazelnuts, and Brazil nuts. Elsewhere flavours of praline, almond flakes, coffee-flavoured chocolate honeycomb sticks, and maple syrup swirl deliciously around the mouth.
The reduced nose subsequently turns jammy. Think Jammie Dodgers, chocolate swiss rolls, strawberry jam, brioche, and chocolate ice cream, all with a side of Champagne and old books.
Eventually the palate becomes smoother and more rounded. Notes of Bourbon biscuits, raspberry, coconut, chocolate bars, and vanilla milkshake take hold alongside hints of wood and spice in the aftertaste.
The Winter Series is available to buy here: https://smws.com/the-winter-series-2025.
Membership Options:
Serious about whisky? Treat yourself to a membership or add it to your Christmas wish list.
A 12-month membership with the SMWS (£100) allows you to select one of four whiskies.
Below are details of the whisky you’ll receive if you select ‘Option A’:
You’ll enjoy the vanilla, oak and mouth-watering fruit notes found in whiskies aged in ex-bourbon casks. This type of cask produces a mellow, sweet, and rounded whisky that is as delicious in a dram as it is in a classic whisky cocktail. Ex-bourbon casks are ‘charred’ on the inside, leading to the beautiful golden colour of these whiskies, plus some notes of toffee.
Purchase of Society membership as a gift also provides the lucky recipient 12 months access to the following benefits outlined below:
World-class, multi-award-winning monthly Outturns of around 20 new single cask, single malt bottlings in an ever-changing variety of flavours.
Members’ Rooms at venues in the UK, where you can sign in up to three guests on each visit.
Society drams and discounts in around 100 SMWS partner bars worldwide.
Virtual and in-person whisky tastings, events, festivals and other whisky experiences held at our Members’ Rooms, partner bars and other venues in the UK and around the world.
Expert advice and personal guidance about all our whiskies from our Dram-cierge team.
Exclusive access to Unfiltered magazine online every month, with the best in whisky writing and photography to inform, entertain and stimulate your taste for whisky adventures.
Membership card and lapel pin badge.
Beyond this, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society offers a plethora of events such as a series of Hallowe’en tastings in October, with a spooky five-dram blind tasting at the Society’s Bath Street venue in Glasgow, and a night of poetry and whisky with Robin Laing at The Vaults in Edinburgh on All Hallows’ Eve.
Other events include a screening of The Shining with a three-dram tasting and cinema snack at The Dominion cinema in Edinburgh; a haunted five-dram tasting with a Witch’s brew and Society supper, served with hair-raising storytelling at the Queen Street Members' Room in Edinburgh; and a “Treat & Sweet” tasting at Bath Street, including three drams with a trio of desserts.
About The Scotch Malt Whisky Society:
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was established in Edinburgh in 1983 and has 41,000 members around the world
It is owned by The Artisanal Spirits Company (ASC) plc
The SMWS bottles rare single cask and single malt whisky, exclusive blends and a range of other Single Cask Spirits
The Society has bottled whisky from 180 distilleries from Scotland and beyond
The Society offers a new batch of dozens of different single malt whiskies every month
Members have access to four exclusive SMWS Members’ Rooms in Leith, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London, along with a global network of 100 partner bars
The Society offers a variety of membership options that can be tailored
For more information about the Society, visit: https://smws.com/
Twitter: @SMWSUK Facebook: @thesmwsuk Instagram: @smws_uk
