Glen Spey 1978 SMWS 80.1

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.

This whisky was distilled in April 1978 and bottled in February 1990.

Glen Spey is the historic home of the Gilbey's 'Spey Royal' blend, and currently provides the majority of its output to J&B, an arrangement in place since its acquisition by IDV in 1962. It was briefly available as a single malt in the 1980s, and Diageo launched an official distillery bottling in 2001 as part of the Flora & Fauna range. Outside of this however, it is a rarely seen single malt.