Smws.ch
Title
Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Description
An article by Richard Gordon
In 1994, the husband and wife team of Brad Richards, a peripatetic American computer programmer and Ina Kraan, a Dutch/Swiss computer researcher, were on the move again. They were leaving Edinburgh where they had temporarily made their home - though most of the time may have been spent in the Society's Members’ Room - and moving to Switzerland, where there was no Society.
Faced with such a bleak prospect, Brad and Ina took the only sensible course and asked if they could establish a branch of the Society. A plan, a few drams, plenty of discussions and the Swiss child of the Society was born. With barely a stumble, the Swiss branch has grown, introducing many new members to the pleasures of single cask whiskies. This was particularly challenging in the early days, when Switzerland had an import ban on any spirits above 55% abv, making importing cask strength whiskies rather difficult.
Although many Swiss members have made the pilgrimage to the Members’ Room in Edinburgh, and now London, their own meetings had been restricted to hotels and restaurants around the country, with no place to call their own. With the Society in Switzerland going from hobby to full time occupation, a place was needed to house these increasing activities whilst also providing facilities for members. (Nor should I forget the arrival of the youngest Swiss members - Aiden and Tynan - who placed additional pressure on space!)
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