The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) has created The Whisky Equinox, a new annual occasion to mark the start of the colder whisky season. The event falls on 23 September and will be celebrated with special bottlings, tasting events and a social media campaign using #WhiskyEquinox.
The Society said that while beer has Oktoberfest and wine has Beaujolais Nouveau Day, whisky has never had a comparable annual moment to mark the season when the spirit is traditionally more popular.
The autumn equinox falls at 01.06am on 23 September, the moment day and night stand in equal measure and the year turns towards cooler evenings.
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To mark the launch, the Society is releasing a pair of half-size 35cl bottles on Thursday 10 September. One is for the light and one for the dark of the turning season.
Riesling Spritz in the Sun is a 12-year-old Speyside. Spice It Up After Dark is an 11-year-old Highland whisky.
They are priced at £39 each ($52) or £75 ($100) for both. Unusually for the Society, whose bottlings are normally reserved for members, they are available to everyone.
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READ THE STORYA launch event will be held on the evening of 23 September at its Members’ Room at 28 Queen Street in Edinburgh, where the club was first established in 1983. The evening starts with a gong sound bath experience by Jo McCoy of Blissness, followed by a short ceremony and a guided tasting.
Madeleine Schmoll, European Content Manager at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, said: “Whisky is a drink for all year round, but it is in autumn and winter that people reach for it most. We wanted to mark that moment properly, and the autumn equinox is where it happens, the day the year tips towards its darker half.”
Annabel Meikle, a whisky polymath and Master of The Quaich, said: “The idea of a date to mark the start of whisky season makes total sense to me. Anything that brings whisky drinkers together and gives people who have never explored it a reason to try it, is worth having. I will be raising a glass on 23 September.”
A further tasting event, ‘Light Side, Dark Side: An Autumn Equinox Whisky Journey’, will run on 15 October at the same venue. The Society plans to build on the date in future years, exploring work with distilleries and tourism organizations.
The Society will release around 100 limited-edition whiskies before the end of the year, including more peated and sherry cask whiskies. More information on the Equinox event is available at smws.com/equinox.
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