The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) will launch Caskmaster 2026, its first blind tasting championship in the UK, this summer. The competition opens to both members and non-members across Europe, with four heats staged across the Society’s UK Members’ Rooms in August and September.
The event follows the success of a similar competition run by the Society’s Australian branch.
Participants will have 30 minutes to nose and taste eight Society drams. They must identify each one from a lineup of nine, with no conferring allowed. The top five from each heat will be announced live and progress directly to the Grand Final. That takes place at The Vaults in Leith, Edinburgh, on 12 November 2026.
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Each ticket costs £50 and includes the eight drams and a Society supper. There is no additional charge for finalists to attend the Grand Final. The five qualifiers from the London heat will have travel and accommodation to Edinburgh covered.
Heats will take place at The Vaults, Leith, on Wednesday 12 August; Queen Street, Edinburgh, on Wednesday 19 August; Bath Street, Glasgow, on Wednesday 26 August; and 19 Greville Street, London, on Wednesday 2 September. Doors open at 6pm, with the competition beginning at 6.30pm.
The champion will receive a lifetime membership to the Society, plus one of 14 places on The Speysider, a four-day whisky retreat in Speyside running from 12 to 15 March 2027. The retreat is hosted by Mitch Bechard of CopperCairn, a Keeper of the Quaich, author and host of Not Another Whisky Podcast.
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READ THE STORYFounded in Edinburgh in 1983, the Society bottles single cask whiskies from more than 180 distilleries without revealing the source, instead giving each dram an evocative name. The Society has 41,000 members worldwide and is owned by The Artisanal Spirits Company (ASC) plc.
“At the Society, we have always believed that flavour should do the talking,” said Calum Lawson, member experience manager at SMWS. “Caskmaster puts that to the ultimate test. It’s a rare opportunity to test your palate against likeminded people, and, for one person, to walk away with a prize that will last a lifetime.”
Tickets go on sale today (July 6) at smws.com.
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