{"title":"The 2023 Festival Collection","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhisky Festival Season \u003c\/strong\u003eis finally here! The festivities kicked off in Scotland in late April and we’ve been chomping at the bit to share this year’s exciting lineup with you….thankfully, the wait is over! Today’s release features \u003cstrong\u003eultra-small batch Rare Release Festival bottlings\u003c\/strong\u003e from the \u003cstrong\u003eSpeyside\u003c\/strong\u003e, \u003cstrong\u003eLowlands\u003c\/strong\u003e and \u003cstrong\u003eHighlands\u003c\/strong\u003e crafted by the Society’s \u003cstrong\u003eHead of Whisky Creation Euan Campbell\u003c\/strong\u003e. The Scotch Malt Whisky Society was formed to celebrate the joy in sharing exceptional whisky - these remarkable rare releases Euan has created for Festival Month allow Society members and their friends the world over to raise the very same liquid to their lips in this celebration. Glasses up!\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"distillery-64-rare-release","title":"Distillery 64 Rare Release","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn celebration of Spirit of Speyside Festival 2023\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA dark and heady brew! \"Luscious!\" noted one Panellist. The nose bloomed with kirsch, damson jam, roasted figs in honey and prunes soaked in armagnac before delicate soot and camphor touches added firmness and depth. A little water revealed a superbly dank dunnage earthiness, lots of of sticky fruit cake, damp pipe tobacco in an old leather pouch and hints of cured meats, toasted nuts and winter mulling spices. The neat palate had the immediate thickness and presence of clotted cream, along with notes of blueberry ham, stroopwaffels, salted caramel ice cream and classical flavours of sultanas, ginger, liquorice and cola syrup. Water revealed darker tones of coffee grounds, toasted pecans, dried orange peel and herbal liqueurs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUSA allocation: 360 bottles \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Scotch Malt Whisky Society","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39999206785095,"sku":"SM0047","price":155.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1507\/7302\/files\/Distillery64RareRelease.png?v=1682633401"},{"product_id":"distillery-68-rare-release","title":"Distillery 68 Rare Release","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn celebration of the Highland Whisky Festival 2023\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA heady aroma came brimming with confectionery and baked pastry vibes. Some clear impressions of pomegranate molasses drizzled on lemon sponge cake were joined by coffee crème caramel and hints of aromatic VORS oloroso. This evolved nicely to cherries, marzipan and orange liqueurs. Water brought out notes of rum fudge, ginger cake, peppermint tea and a wonderfully deep leather and tobacco combo. The neat palate opened up with hot cross buns, a deep and satisfying spiciness, booze-soaked trifle and a smörgåsbord of fig jam, cinnamon pastries and a lovely, syrupy texture evoking runny honey and fruit compotes. With water it moved more towards dark chocolate, Turkish delight and candied walnuts, with a long, warming and citrus-tinged afterglow.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUSA allocation: 246 bottles\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Scotch Malt Whisky Society","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39999214223431,"sku":"SM0040","price":170.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1507\/7302\/files\/Distillery68RareRelease.png?v=1682626276"},{"product_id":"distillery-g16-rare-release","title":"Distillery G16 Rare Release","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn celebration of Lowland Whisky 2023\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA rich aroma of rum-soaked raisins, Turkish delight, cinnamon bagels and glacé cherries welcomed the Panel, bolstered by charred peaches, caramel popcorn and honey-roasted nuts. After the inviting nose, the taste neat came as quite a surprise – a spicy hit of chilli flakes followed by dry\/bitter cask char. There was sweetness behind that attack, but it was difficult to get to the vanilla concentrate, fudge and toffee bonbons. Following reduction, we felt that someone had burned an exotic antique tea chest before rum-infused desserts took centre stage on the palate, including warm banana split in a rum sauce, a classic French rum baba ... and how about a dark ’n’ stormy crème brûlée?\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUSA allocation: 258 bottles\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Scotch Malt Whisky Society","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39999221563463,"sku":"SM0044","price":100.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1507\/7302\/files\/DistilleryG16.png?v=1682626313"},{"product_id":"distillery-93-rare-release-1","title":"Distillery 93 Rare Release","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIn Celebration of Campbeltown Malts Festival 2023\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThere was something fishy about these characters, as they arrived with heavy-hitting heather and honey, leaving a collision of teriyaki, peanuts and lapsang souchong tea in their wake. The rev of powerful engines blasted thick engine oil over prawns in butter while they made a quick getaway in the sweet medicinal aromas of a stolen tugboat ambulance. With a few drops of water the mobster lobster arrived, chewing on salted toffee and flexing his mussels with shallots in a cream sauce. A loaded banana went off, scattering oranges, melons and lemons. As clouds of smoke from smouldering thyme cleared, the lobster found himself trapped in trifle, facing a stretch of time in brine behind chocolate bars.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUSA allocation: 252 bottles\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Scotch Malt Whisky Society","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39999228575815,"sku":"SM0045","price":120.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1507\/7302\/files\/Distillery93RareRelease_27f8b7cc-2d1f-43b6-9b99-7b76d3e7d9ad.png?v=1682626295"},{"product_id":"distillery-3-rare-release-1","title":"Distillery 3 Rare Release","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eIn celebration of the Islay Whisky Festival 2023\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA fine bouquet of fragrant flowers and scorched watermelon mingled with molten wax before it dripped onto tarry ropes. There were also iodine elements of seaweed scattered on a shellfish platter. The palate had fine finesse - juicy with charred pineapple, but devilishly moreish as butter melted over toasted coconut and just a nuance of eucalyptus converged with powdery coal tar. What could a dash of water do? Now wonderfully clean smoke engulfed the maritime familiarity of walks along the beach. Flowers were dotted about the sand dunes and herbal notes morphed into sweet phenols and antiseptic cream on peach skin.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eUSA allocation: 198 bottles\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Scotch Malt Whisky Society","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39999230836807,"sku":"SM0051","price":285.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1507\/7302\/files\/Distillery_Dive_3_Rare_Release.png?v=1682626174"},{"product_id":"distillery-53-rare-release-1","title":"Distillery 53 Rare Release","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong style=\"font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'San Francisco', 'Segoe UI', Roboto, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif; font-size: 0.875rem;\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eIn celebration of the Islay Whisky Festival 2023\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHoneysuckle came glazed with a cocktail of rose water, bacon jam and barbecue sauce, plus a side dish of crab meat plucked from a vat of clarified butter. Need we say anything else? To the palate, this dram gifted smoked prune juice and cherry fondant served on driftwood. We also found crushed figs, apricot and brambles singed by a travelling firestarter intent on promoting the skills of cold smoking with peat. Introducing water elevated a smoked apple pie encased in a soft leather satchel, along with potted crab and rye bread. The palate offered a buffet of liquorice, smoked ginger and biltong, served on a bed of ash-dusted pebbles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUSA allocation: 450 bottles\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Scotch Malt Whisky Society","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":39999236407367,"sku":"SM0043","price":180.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1507\/7302\/files\/Distillery53RareRelease_57ed8265-108a-4711-a7c8-4411f92d08bb.png?v=1682626199"}],"url":"https:\/\/orders.smwsa.com\/collections\/the-2023-festival-collection.oembed","provider":"The Scotch Malt Whisky Society","version":"1.0","type":"link"}