MEET YOUR GLASGOW GAFFER
As the Society’s new Members’ Room in Glasgow opens its doors, we’re delighted to introduce you to the venue’s manager, Calum Lawson
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Aspiring actor, DJ, bar and restaurant owner and whisky ambassador – Calum Lawson brings a fair variety of experiences to his newest role, as venue manager at the Society’s new Glasgow Members’ Room at 38 Bath Street.
More than anything, Glasgow born-and-bred Calum is looking forward to sharing his own growing passion for whisky with a wide cross-section of members from in and around the city.
Meet Calum Lawson, venue manager at The Scotch Malt Whisky Society's new Members' Room at 38 Bath Street in Glasgow.
“I’ve always had an interest in whisky but it’s really in the past five or six years that I’ve got into it in a big way,” says Calum. “Maybe that’s because it’s becoming more fashionable, or maybe as I’m getting older I’ve been developing more of a taste for it. But I’m looking forward to the Society’s Glasgow Members’ Room becoming the place to come, not only for people who already love their whisky, but a younger demographic who are keen to find out more about it and develop their passion in a similar way that I’ve done.”
Calum and the rest of the Glasgow Members' Room team raise a glass at the opening of the new venue.
Calum thinks a Members’ Room in Glasgow is overdue and believes it should quickly develop its own identity as an outpost of the Edinburgh-based Society.
“If I’m speaking to anyone visiting Scotland, I’ll always tell them to visit Edinburgh for attractions such as the castle and the medieval Old Town, it’s such a beautiful city,” he says. “But as a Glaswegian you’d expect me to be biased in favour of my hometown – it’s such a vibrant city, always at the cutting edge and with its an attitude all of its own. We’ll certainly keep the tradition of the Society and everything it stands for, but I expect 38 Bath Street to have a distinct character.”
The Society's new Glasgow Members' Room will be the perfect place to explore the world of Society cask whiskies, and much more.
As part of that, Calum is planning a menu of cocktails to appeal to a younger demographic, and to those who are looking for an alternative to cask strength Society whiskies – although he believes that there’s a whisky epiphany just round the corner for anyone on this side of the M8 who hasn’t had the opportunity to sample a Society dram yet.
“There’s something so special about that whisky in its pure, undiluted form,” he says. “I’ve certainly seen the light and I’m looking forward to sharing the love in Glasgow.”