The Single Malt Whisky Club (aka SMWC or singlemalt.com.au) started when two mates would catch up on Friday nights and relax with a shared bottle of single malt whisky.

At the time single malt whisky mainly came from Scotland and only a few brands were available in Australia.

Friends and family soon got in on the action and then rare and hard to get single malt whiskies were being shared, assessed and enjoyed.

In 2005, the two friends had an epiphany – if we like doing this, surely there are others who would like to partake in the ‘water of life’ and the club was born.

SMWC is a subscription whisky club focused on seeking out the very best, rarest and most interesting single malt whiskies from around the world. With some unique and surprising additions along the way!

Over the last twenty years single malt whisky has boomed and nowhere more so than in Australia.

Tasmania, the home of Australian whisky, which had no distilleries 30 years ago has over 70 at last count with even more coming, and Australia now boasts over 700 distilleries – with around 200 of those producing whisky.

The rise of ‘World Whisky’ has also happened in our time, with countries such as America, France, India, Japan (and Asia in general) - even Israel - all being recognised on the world stage for the whiskies they are producing. And these ‘world whiskies’ are (like the Australian whiskies) taking medal after medal in the worlds most respected awards and publications.

Scottish distilleries that had previously closed have opened back up due to the demand for all styles of whisky.

All of which is great news for the SMWC as it means more options for members to sample and delight in.

“We initially developed the SMWC back in 2005 because we just couldn’t buy most of the really interesting single malts in Australia,” founder Brad Wright said. “We started simply as genuine enthusiasts, and our idea was to import a case or two and share the costs with others who were similarly interested.”

“Now the SMWC’s buying power means we can work with many of the distilleries we feature to bring unique expressions of their whisky to our members. We feature special ‘SMWC-exclusive’ releases from such distilleries Glenrothes, Benrinnes, Glen Scotia (to name a few) as well as many exclusive casks from well-known Aussie producers, and tiny ‘artisanal’ distilleries from all over Australia.”

“Amongst these ‘special’ projects, our wildest was probably our collaboration with Iron House Distillery in Tasmania where we had a couple of casks of their whisky stowed on a Tassy Abalone boat (the ‘Maverick’) for a year,” Brad said.

‍

‍

“In those 12 months, the casks travelled 3280nm (about 6000km) in some of world’s most treacherous waters, endured 7 metre waves, 100km/h hurricane force winds and barometric pressure ranging from 910 to 1040HPA. All these factors combined to create a ‘hyper-aging’ environment. And what a whisky it turned out to be! Our members loved it, and it was swooned over at every whisky show we sampled it at that year.”

In 2021, Single Malt Whisky Club won the prestigious Icons of Whisky: Whisky Buyer of the Year Award, a nod from the industry that the boys really do know what they’re doing!

SMWC also has an online store, offering an array of fine malt whisky for those not wanting a monthly purchase or looking for something special.

“We are about much more than just cost-effective, home delivered single malt whisky,” Brad said. “We believe that the best way to truly appreciate something is to learn about it. To this end, it is our mission to provide information and activities that ensure the tasting experience is as full as possible.”

“We provide detailed tasting notes on everything we sell, and we don’t rank - we review. Taste is a personal and subjective thing, so we tell you what it tastes like but not whether it is good or bad. What we dislike you may love. We provide guidance to our members and customers, so they choose based on their own preferences,” Brad continued.

The SMWC prides itself on providing whiskies from distilleries that produce tiny amounts of single malt, and whisky from regions previously only read about in dusty tomes are regular monthly malts.

“Our single malts are sourced from the highlands, lowlands, speyside, Islay and the Islands of Scotland together with the emerging single malts of Australia, Japan, Canada, NZ, India and Ireland. In fact, we’ve featured whiskies from 19 countries at last count!” Brad said.

And if sharing a love of whisky wasn’t enough, the boys have started the Rum Tribe (rumtribe.com.au) to let rum lovers experience the diverse and hard to get rums from around the world.

Rum is where whisky was around twenty years ago,” Brad said. “I am looking forward to seeing the growth of this wonderful drink and how Australians will embrace the rum experience into the future.

Operating in much the same way as a wine club, the SMWC offers a ‘Malt of the Month’ for members, tasting notes, video reviews and whisky education.

There is no obligation, no minimum buy, no joining fee, no hidden contracts, and as the boys say, no bull.

Gift cards and gift memberships are available, or you can simply purchase individual bottles online.

‍