The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) have teamed up with naturalist and TV presenter, Nick Baker, to offer a fun quiz in which people can find their 'whisky spirit animal.'
Nick, who has experienced the wildest parts of the planet in search of bizarre and incredible creatures, is also an avid malt whisky fan and an SMWS member.
With his knowledge of both wildlife and whisky in mind, he has come up with his pick of 12 animals to match each of the Society’s flavour profiles and explore the relationship between the spirit and the natural world.
This includes the Society’s ‘Sweet, Fruity & Mellow’ flavour profile being paired with an elegant trogon (a colourful bird found in Arizona) due to its sweet, curvy and chilled out nature and their ‘Heavily Peated’ range being compared to a formidable great white shark.
Whisky fans can now take part in the SMWS’s online quiz to find their ‘spirit animal’, through a series of interactive questions about their likes, dislikes and whisky preferences.
They’ll then be able to learn more about their chosen animal, hear from Nick to understand why that corresponds with a particular whisky flavour profile and get dram recommendations based on their results.
Results are easily shareable so people can encourage their friends to take part and compare matches.
Nick, who has presented shows including Weird Creatures and more recently Big Week at the Zoo for Channel 5, has a long-standing love for malt whisky.
This affiliation began when somebody passed him a hipflask after a freezing stint filming polar bears in a blizzard during one of many remote expeditions. This sparked his connection between whisky and wildlife and encouraged him to develop his knowledge of the spirit.
The broadcaster and author said: “When you take a dram, you’re effectively drinking an element of the landscape, and what I love about whisky is that it’s rooted in a sense of place.
“Whisky, Scotland and its wildlife for me are inseparable and all part of the same experience.”
Nick’s natural selection of unusual global wildlife and flavour profiles pairings is available online here.
Although The Scotch Malt Whisky Society’s Members’ Rooms remain closed, they are open for business as normal online with single cask whisky ready to be delivered straight to your door.
In times of uncertainty, the Society is encouraging members to grab some drams and share them at home.
They’ve also set up a virtual Members’ Room where whisky fans can meet up online to enjoy a dram, share their experiences and participate in a series of tastings, from the safety of their own homes.
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