Glenburgie 1978 SMWS 71.6

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.

First established as Kilnflat distillery in 1829, the plant became known as Glenburgie in 1871 when it was bought by Charles Hay. After closing down in 1925, it was eventually acquired by Hiram Walker, alongside Miltonduff distillery, as the firm sought to build a portfolio to supply its newly acquired Ballantine's blend. Today the distillery and Ballantine's are still closely linked, so much so that there have been very few distillery bottlings, the most recent being a 15 year old under the George Ballantine & Sons banner, released in 2017. Prior to this, the majority of the rare examples of Glenburgie on the market came in the form of independent releases like this.