A Guide to Monthly Whisky Subscription Clubs

Best buys

The boom time of the pandemic has now somewhat subsided, with some clubs sadly falling by the wayside. But several excellent options remain to give you your monthly whisky fix.

Here are three of the best offerings that are on the current market in the UK. Tempted to sign up?

Drop & Dram by SMWS

Last year saw the 40th anniversary of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS), which was founded by a group of friends in Edinburgh in 1983. To celebrate they launched Drop & Dram – a monthly whisky subscription service aimed at allowing whisky enthusiasts in the UK to explore new flavours without having to pay for a full annual membership.

For a cost of £45 per month you receive a pack of three cask strength whiskies. Each is bottled at 5cl and taken from the SMWS’ vast portfolio of casks that stretches across 180 distilleries from Scotland and beyond. Each month has a different theme and allows access to exclusive tasting notes and video links about the samples. It needs to be renewed each month, so allows flexibility to pick and choose packs of interest.

A huge benefit of Drop & Dram is that it allows temporary monthly membership to the SMWS. This gives the opportunity to purchase full 70cl bottlings upon release and visit one of the four excellent Society venues in the UK – Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leith, and London. It also allows participation in exclusive events and tastings.

www.smws.com/drop-dram

Whisky Me

The UK’s biggest whisky subscription club and one so successful that it has featured on BBC TV’s Dragon’s Den. This award-winning monthly offering is brought to you by the guys behind the fabulous Black Rock whisky bar in London. And it could not be simpler. From just under £9 per month you will receive a carefully curated 6cl sample in a pouch through your letterbox.

There are three options – Traditional (Scotch single malt focussed for £8.95/month or £96/year), Discovery (World whisky focussed and for the same prices) and Explorer (a combination of the two with one pouch of each for £17.95/month or £192/year). By taking a yearly subscription, you get one month for free. They also offer full bottle options starting at £45/month.

Whisky Me gives extensive membership rewards such as UK-wide offers and discounts in selected bars, distillery tours and events with the option to cancel at any time. They also run the highly successful Gin Me, which starts from just £7 per month.

www.whisky-me.com

Whisky Nest

This superb whisky subscription service focusses on the ever-expanding world whisky category and is a definite for the flavour explorers amongst you. Whisky Nest has won several awards and is highly recommended by BBC Good Food. The passion for new world whiskies shines through in their monthly selections and they work with some of the most pioneering craft and artisan distilleries on the planet.

Whisky Nest was set up by a group of whisky fans and samples arrive in 10cl bottles and a recycled card tube. Again, this fits through the letterbox. This sizing allows you to truly explore a whisky in more than one sitting if you want to – you could sample it neat or with water and experiment with the remainder in a whisky cocktail or share with friends.

Prices begin from £18.95 per month and unlike many other such clubs, you can choose which sample you prefer from an extensive list of world whisky distilleries. These include Spirit of Yorkshire from England, Milk & Honey from Israel, and Stauning from Denmark. The choice is almost endless.

www.thewhiskynest.com