They bottle all their own cask-strength single malt whisky from single casks, so the whisky is much stronger and distinct. They take their time to explain the differences too, creating a wonderful experience exploring the characteristics from one whisky to the next.
Venue is nice. Service in the members room is slow. Portion size for soup is very small, is that due to the change of crockery or meanness? Very disappointing.
So many variety of whisky. Good place for take a couple shorts.
Exquisite from the world of single-malt. Dedicated staff will give you excellent introduction and description of each whiskey
Unwelcoming and very poor service.
Was looking forward to our visit and won t return
The number of open whiskeys was limited. Several on the card were sold out. The staff was unmotivated. The glasses of our predecessors were on our table for 10 minutes. The service passed us several times empty.
Excellent selection of spirits but sold out of the Scotch outtakes that we sampled, too bad.
Staff too condescending, not that friendly, disappointing
Fantastic location. Quiet and reserved with a fantastic selection of whiskeys. Some wine and beer also available. On most occasions membership required or accompaniment. Multiple levels and split allow for a good location for business catch ups as well as social visits.
great ambience, fine selection of whisky, and fair bar food or first class dining.
Real nice atmosphere. Bar for non members downstairs with excellent whisky choice. Well served at restaurant, excellent dishes worth while. Top floor membersbar with great range whisky's
I had an unfortunate & unprofessional event experience. SMWS hosted a very expensive event (~$160+), did not have the right glassware, and the host said he didn't know what was going on. We left almost immediately and requested our money back at the door, which ended up being a several months-long protracted argument over email to get a refund. I ended up having to send a highlighted version of the user agreement to management. Incredibly unprofessional and frustrating. Will never interact with this company again. I recommend getting single casks from any other independent bottler, and not doing business with this company.
Non member, but the non members area is great, very relaxing with friendly knowledgeable staff. Not a big drinker but have it on very good authority they have some very good and very varied whisky, just ask a staff member what they would recommend for your tastes. Also the limited edition batches have cool intriguing names that make me feel very happy as they remind me of the culture ships from Iain M Banks novels
If you consider yourself even remotely a fan of whisky then consider life incomplete until you have visited here. Both branches in Edinburgh are great but The Vaults in Leith has got the edge.
They do serve some beers, cognac and bourbon too. The food is also really good. Well worth a visit.
Fascinating place for whisky lovers. Completely different to the normal bar experience, everything is based on flavour rather than brand. All the whiskies are single cask making them essentially unique
The right place to taste genuine Scotch single malt whiskey.
Great experience, learnt all there is to know about whisky, fantastic meal, great service.
Very nice environment in the member room, good food and good service.
Wonderful place to to go back the generations and feel like a Victorian night out!!
Experience the best whisky money can buy in a unique environment where the staff are very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful.
Memberships available and not expensive. The whiskey tasting was informative and very fun. Haven t had the food yet but the building is cozy and a great place for an after hours drink.
Just had a great whisky tasting and excellent burger and fries. Very informative tasting with Francesco. Lovely ambiance . Definitely a good experience.
Great selection of whiskies (and cocktails), with tasty food and in a lovely, cosy environment.
Very nice. Good food. Good service and fantastic whisky.
Expensive for drinks, but nice. Staff mainly French and celebrating one of their birthday to bother about paying customers
This was an excellent gift for my husband. The staff were very knowledgable, very personable and the tastings were great. The following meal was tasty and very well cooked. A wonderful day out.
Unbutton your tweed jacket as you appreciate a hint of crystalised honey and peaty heather blossom rolling around your tongue. Breath in the ashy barbequed lobster afternotes as you order your Fish & Chips from the bearded hipster barman. Always ask for recommendations.
Awesome experience of you can go with a member to the top floor!
Lovely atmosphere, great whisky. Tasting event was well run with good "bar snacks" (actually a fairly large plate of food).
Great cocktails and there's a vast option for the whisky. I wish the staff on the first floor wasn't ignorant of the walk-in customers.
One of the best meals restaurants in Edinburgh, and two great bars!
Attended a whisky tasting at the Queen St premises....... great tasting and the main course that followed was excellent.... I had the seafood platter.... well worth trying.... smashing single cask whiskies...... public bar area downstairs and members area upstairs...... various memberships available!!
Great little venue whether you're a whiskey newbie or a seasoned drammer! Chilled atmosphere, nice staff... And my food hasn't arrived as of yet so watch this space for that one! Recommend.
Relaxing environment when it is quiet as it was this evening. Obviously a good choice of whiskies but other spirits too.
One of THE places to go to sample unique Scotch malt whisky. Membership required
Lovely place. Too many Malts to choose from. Staff are very knowledgeable
Will be back
What a fantastic experience! Single malt Scotch whisky that is cask-strength and just lovely - you better catch it while you can since once the bottles from each cask are gone then you may not find something quite like it again! There is a gorgeous dining room downstairs, or have tasty bar food downstairs. It's a fantastic members-only place, but it's open in August and on World Whisky Day if you want to check it out!
THE whiskey bar in Edinburgh !!
Excellent food in the Kaleidoscop and several tasting rooms.
A selection of hundreds of single malt, single cask whiskeys. Best price / performance ratio with extremely high quality.
Love both the modern smws branch and the original one in Leith. Go to Leith for old world atmosphere, to Edinburgh city centre for modern, comfortable glam. Staff are exceptional...particularly 'Alan'. Just have a pocket full of cash if you're wanting to try a few drams. Good quality doesn't come cheap...rightly so. Great place to take visitors to Edinburgh.
Quite a different atmosphere to the society's main venue - the Vaults in Leith. I think like most people I prefer the Vaults, but this is more conveniently located, handy for an afternoon dram amidst a shopping trip.
Cute place, definitely go if you love whisky! Good experience
I'm a member at SMWS but there is a public bar on the ground floor where you can sample some amazing and unique whiskys and the food in the restaurant is just as good as the liquid in the glass!
Allways good warm and friendly . Nicely decorated at this time of year. Perfect end to a night out.
Now called Kaleidoscope, good platters plus prosecco or cocktails - still run by the SMWS
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is a great place to enjoy some amazing single cask, scotch malt whisky. If you are a whisky lover you really need to get down to the society.
There is a public bar downstairs but the members rooms are the best spot to enjoy a dram.
Can't recommend highly enough.
Seriously love very this place. If you love a dram, you will too. Fantastic whisky with expert staff to advise and help you have a great visit.
A unique venue and a very interesting concept. Prior to the visit I did not know that the society purchase the casks and then bottle them themselves.
The tasting menu was amazing and just right to accompany the whiskey that our guide had picked out.
Has really gone down since new owners took over, seems a shame as it was very nice before. Some things don't need to change. The new public bar downstairs had a very loud drunk american tourist on my last visit, he could be heard all through the place. Not a nice experience. The level of service has also dwindled on my last few visits, have been a member for about 10 years and seriously considering not renewing the membership.
Had the rugby lunch which was lovely thne back late night to members bar for a quiet pint. Great if your looking for an escape from the hustle and bustle.
Amazing tasting menu, allowing you to fully experience what all the fuss about Scottish whiskey is all about. They made the tasting menu vegetarian with only a little bit of complaining.
Brilliant place to enjoy the whole range of malt whisky. The staff are incredibly well informed and can talk you through the amazing and daunting walls of whisky available.
Definitely worth a visit.
Kaleidoscope bar is open to non-members of SMWS, a place where you can tastr hundreds of unique whiskys. Restaurant upstairs is excellent
Went here for my cousin's stag do. I was initially sceptical but changed my mind after attending!
Whisky was/is a very intimidating/daunting thing to get into! With water, without water, with ice, with cola, neat ect... The message I took from attending a whisky tasting session was it's all on you. Have it However you want it. Try it neat, try it with water see what you like. Initially the whole whisky world felt vast and filled with old guys who looked down there nose at me for not being able to pronounce auchentoshan properly. This place made that all disappear!
The staff are patient and helpful. Happy to point you in the direction of something new or something aligning with your tastes!
Plenty variety of whiskys! Can't speak to other drinks except for beers they stock some of Barney's beer which I love! And had a sour beer on draft which was a treat!
The food is amazing (the cheek of beef changed my life it's like a steak pie on steroids!)
If your completely new to whisky and want to get started in a tasting adventure or have drank whisky since birth this place will cater for you! Definitely worth a visit on a your of Edinburgh!
An atmospheric place where whiskey reigns. It's like moving to another world as soon as you cross the door and the door closes behind you. I heartily recommend!
As guests of a member, we thoroughly enjoyed our tasting experience in the members' rooms upstairs
Not as good as the vaults in Leith but worth a visit.
Great rare whisky. Food trends to take assures to come to the table (around 30 minutes at least from my previous 5 experiences).
Great place with incredibly knowledgeable and enthusiastic drinks experts. We stopped in by chance and had the best drams of our whole trip and we discovered some truly unique malts and an incredible Armagnac. We're gutted that we weren't able to buy a bottle to take home due to Scottish licensing restrictions and also we because we weren't members but we'll definitely consider membership for the future. If you're after something more personal than a standard whiskey tasting then this is definitely the place to go!
Great food, drinks and atmosphere. Will be back soon.
Always superb food, excellent range of drinks and great atmosphere. If you aren't a member yet, why not?
Been a member for a few years and this was the 1st time at the location in Edinburgh. Had a table reserved for myself and my wife. Greeted by the delightful Emily. Karen who led the team at the restaurant couldnt have been more helpful. Food well presented and delicious. Retired to the bar and again well looked after by the bar staff. All in all a very good relaxed experience. Highly recommended.
The best place for straight from the barrel unfiltered whisky. Snazzy bar. Brilliant and much underrated restaurant. If you love whisky and want access to whisky you will never taste elsewhere in a stylish environment then this is the place for you.
The bar is for members only and obviously caters for lovers of Scotland's national drink. Prices are expensive but you are getting exclusive drams of single cask whisky. There is also a small selection of beers and wines available. Food choices are really good and again are at the top side of the price range but the quality is impecable. The downstairs Dining Room is open to the general public but you will probably need to book as it is very popular and again superb quality.
The venue is great if you want to impress clients and friends or just to relax in surroundings where you know you'll probably get a seat and have a good atmosphere.
Was only in for a conference but very nice building and interior. Awesome bacon rolls.
Wonderful club atmosphere, excellent whiskies. Food very good
Excellent food and drink before the game today. The staff are helpful and knowledgeable.
Beautiful old building housing an awesome malt whiskey collection.
Welcoming, informative, friendly.maybe on the pricey side,but when Edinburgh you gotta do a tasting
Wonderful evening at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society at 38 Queen Street. Our party had our own private dining area on the top floor. The food was excuisite and it certainly lived up to its billing as Scotland's best restaurant. The whisky tasting was very enjoyable and each dram we tasted was thoroughly explained by the staff before serving.
Food is bang tidy. Fresh ingredients, beautifully presented, very tasty. Not cheap but modern and great value nontheless. The most gigantic range of whiskys in the world and expert staff to advice. A lovely meeting place in town for coffee, lunch or networking. The acoustics could be improved - sometimes when it's quiet, one's conversation can reverberate around the room - but lovely decor.
Great atmosphere, great whiskies, great food and great staff. Definitely a great place for a taste of Scotland.
Very quaint more interested in whisky drinking customers obviously
smws.com
