What Will Happen to the Whiskey Scene in 2025?
Meet Jack Chambers, the new head of SMWS!
- Part 1 -.

This month, Jack Chambers (The Scotch Malt Whiskey Society), who is likely to be a key player in the whiskey scene in 2025!He will read up on this year's scene!

writer：Ryoko Kuraishi

Jack was born in England.Photo by Shingo Kobari

THE SCOTCH MALT WHISKY SOCIETY (SMWS) is the world's oldest members-only whisky club, founded by enthusiasts who want to share, enjoy, and delve into their beloved whiskies among their peers.

It was founded in 1983 in Edinburgh, Scotland as a private company that buys casks.The company's policy of offering valuable warehoused whisky exclusively to members has been well received by connoisseurs around the world, leading to the establishment of branches in various countries around the world.

Today, The Scotch Malt Whisky purchases whiskey in cask from over 160 distilleries around the world and bottles it independently for sale to its 40,000 members in 20 countries around the world.

Late last year, Jack Chambers took over as head of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society KK, which was founded in Japan in 2017.

Bartenders may be familiar with his work as an ambassador for Brooklady Distillery & Westland Distillery.

When I was working as a Brooklady Distillery Ambassador.

Whiskey love deepened in Japan.

ここでジャックさんのプロフィールを簡単に。

1993年にイギリス・ケント州で生まれたジャックさんは、秋田の国際教養大学留学に伴い20歳で初来日。帰国してイギリスの大学を卒業すると、幹細胞の研究を行うため、2016年に京都大学院の修士課程に進む。同時に、祇園のバーでバーテンダーとして勤め始める。

大学院修了後、レミーコアントロージャパンのウイスキーブランドアンバサダーに就任、ブルックラディ蒸留所＆ウエストランド蒸留所の「顔」としてさまざまに活動してきた。

「留学を終えて帰国し、イギリスの大学を卒業したとき、僕の親友が卒業祝いに『白州』を持ってきてくれたんです。僕たちは2人とも大の日本好きということもあり、『白州』を選んでくれたのでしょう。

で、二人で一瓶を飲み明かしました。ストレートでじっくり、ウイスキーを味わうのは初めての経験でしたが、これで完全にハマりました。

ジャパニーズウイスキーから入ってさまざまな蒸留所のウイスキーを味わうようになりました」

A memorable snapshot of my first visit to the Yamazaki Distillery in 2019.The experience at this time encouraged me to pursue a career in the industry.

He decided to enter this industry after visiting the Yamazaki distillery in Kyoto.

I was exposed to the craftsmanship and attention to detail in the manufacturing process, and it made me want to learn more about this world.Distillation requires knowledge of science and blending requires creativity, which fit perfectly with my background."

Jack, who had never even heard of Negroni at the time, worked at a bar in Gion at night while attending graduate school,While attending graduate school, Jack worked at a bar in Gion at night to deepen his knowledge of bartending.Then, after completing graduate school, he joined Remy Cointreau.

He was put in charge of Brooklady and Westland, two single malt whiskies from different areas.

'I had never been to Scotland before, so this was my first visit to a foreign distillery since becoming an ambassador.

I share Brooklady's attitude of daring to challenge areas that are not the industry standard, such as the whisky production method, sustainability, and the fact that the age of the whisky is not written on the bottle.

They value local (Islay) and are always conscious of giving back to the local community.And best of all, they taste great!"

During his time as an ambassador, he appeared at various events, sometimes as a bartender and sometimes as a judge, conveying the appeal of the brand from different perspectives.

SMWS is committed to a uniform label design & no distillery name.

After four and a half years as an ambassador, spreading the message of the makers in various ways, Jack decided to move on to the next stage of his career at the end of 2024.

I felt it was the perfect challenge to become the President of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.

Not only as a career, but also as a whisky fan, being able to communicate with more than 160 partner distilleries was very appealing.

Now I am continuing my studies to become "Mr. Whiskey."

Let me reiterate here the SMWS system of offering whiskies that are not on the market to its members.

The whiskies offered are carefully selected by whisky experts from more than 15,000 casks from more than 160 distilleries around the world, including Scotland, the U.S., Finland, Denmark, Japan, Taiwan, and India (......).The distiller's casks are carefully selected by whisky experts from more than 160 distilleries and 15,000 casks worldwide and bottled at cask strength (unpasteurized).

The distinctive feature is that the bottle does not bear the name of the distillery at all.The only information on the label is the date of distillation, age, number of bottles, alcohol content, distillery code, and cask number.

The reason for this, according to Jack, is "to let people enjoy the true flavor of the whiskey without preconceived notions about the distillery.

In the second part, we will ask Jack what keywords he would like to focus on in 2025.

Continue to the second part.

SMWS bottles are lined up in a row.Each of the 12 flavor profiles, such as "Deep, Rich & Dry Fruit" and "Sweet, Fruity & Mellow," has a different colored label and cap.