We want to show you what the impact of the grain(s) used themselves can have from the start which means we’ll avoid single malts (usually barley) & blends (which goes against the grain of the brief – pun intended 😜).

Instead, we want to champion grains other than barley and could include well known alternatives e.g. corn, wheat & rye known in bourbons to more unusual ones e.g. oats, millet & rice which are more niche.

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Date: Friday 1st May 2026
Time: 7.30pm – 10.30pm
Venue: Studio Room (upstairs), NCI Centre, 1 Holland Street, Cambridge, CB4 3DL.
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Important Information

Refund requests must be made more than 48 hours in advance of the tasting to be guaranteed. Any requests made with less notice will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Buying your ticket early helps us plan for the right numbers and reduces the chance of us having to cancel. If we have to cancel or reduce the scale of an event, due to ticket-sale forecasting, we may have to refund some or all tickets.

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Our President & Treasurer went on a trip to Japan itself and found a number of bottles ONLY available there BUT they were kind enough to bring some back 🥳

I’m sure Nicholas & Donald will delight in explaining the “direct fired” vs “double steam injected” 🤓

ALL are some combination of single malt, single cask e.g. the much sort-after mizunara wood, some whisky distilled in the 1980s, exclusive bottles to Japan, distillery exclusives etc.

Date: Friday 13th March 2026
Time: 7.30pm – 10.30pm
Venue: Main Hall (downstairs), NCI Centre, 1 Holland Street, Cambridge, CB4 3DL.
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Important Information
For this event, there will be a strict limit of upto 2 tickets per person i.e. you + 1 guest. We want to have as many different people come along – this is a rare treat, even for our whisky society!

To help manage demand fairly, we’ll be enforcing our members’ guest policy, with a maximum of one guest per member for this event. If you purchase more than the 2 allowed, the extra tickets will be refunded and a message sent to you directly explaining this.

Refund requests must be made more than 48 hours in advance of the tasting to be guaranteed. Any requests made with less notice will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Buying your ticket early helps us plan for the right numbers and reduces the chance of us having to cancel. If we have to cancel or reduce the scale of an event, due to ticket-sale forecasting, we may have to refund some or all tickets.

Here is your chance to actively participate in what you will be drinking 🗳️

5 Committee Members will present their choice of whisky – whatever they may be – whilst Our Dear Leader (President) 🤭 will present the MEMBERS’ PICK. The President is foregoing his choice so you, “The People” may engage in a bit of democracy in this university society 😇

A separate poll will be sent to the Members who signed up for the event ahead of time so we could garner the votes from a shortlist. Please ensure you have voted by the specified deadline…………unfortunately, we don’t have an endless shelf of whisky to pick from; we do have to procure them before the event!

Date: Friday 27th February 2026
Time: 7.30pm – 10.30pm
Venue: Main Hall (downstairs), NCI Centre, 1 Holland Street, Cambridge, CB4 3DL.
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Important Information
Refund requests must be made more than 48 hours in advance of the tasting to be guaranteed. Any requests made with less notice will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Buying your ticket early helps us plan for the right numbers and reduces the chance of us having to cancel. If we have to cancel or reduce the scale of an event, due to ticket-sale forecasting, we may have to refund some or all tickets.

Showtime is a Friday 13th 🙅🏽🙈

More relevant, the following day is Valentine’s Day 🙄💐 So we’ve gone for a parody theme……….hopefully if you’re celebrating on the actual day, you enjoy it NOT hung over 😈

For this event , each person will have TWO Glencairn tasting glasses so each pairing will be side-by-side…………….the differences may be subtle but there will be contrast! It maybe age, peat type, cask type or even different still types; lots of options!

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Date: Friday 13th February 2026
Time: 7.30pm – 10.30pm
Venue: Main Hall (downstairs), NCI Centre, 1 Holland Street, Cambridge, CB4 3DL.
(open Google maps in new tab)

Important Information
Refund requests must be made more than 48 hours in advance of the tasting to be guaranteed. Any requests made with less notice will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Buying your ticket early helps us plan for the right numbers and reduces the chance of us having to cancel. If we have to cancel or reduce the scale of an event, due to ticket-sale forecasting, we may have to refund some or all tickets.

We’re proud to bring you a line-up from an highly regarded brand AND better, we have their Brand Ambassadors in to talk about it themselves………..you get respite from the Committee waffling on 😜

Duncan Taylor (Est 1938) are now based in Huntly on the edges of Speyside in quintessential Scottish landscape plus one of many ruined castles for company in a small town.

Duncan Taylor & Co were founded as a “cask broker” in Glasgow.

In 1960, New Yorker Abe Rosenberg, the J&B Scotch importer to the US took the reigns storing premium whisky casks so he could make blends………….still need the single malts to do it!

In 2002, Euan Shand took control a few years after Abe’s death including the prized single malt,single grain & aged blend collections with a more international business plan. He also revived the legendary “Black Bull” premium blends which died when Prohibition ruined their main export market.

The company moved to Aberdeenshire in 2014.

Chairman Euan Shand retired in 2024. Responsibility moved to Shaun Smith AND the company is now part of a Texan group, Whisky Holdings, LP.

The Committee looks forward to sharing the journey alongside all of you 😎🤓

Date: Friday 30th January 2026
Time: 7.30pm – 10.30pm
Venue: Main Hall (downstairs), NCI Centre, 1 Holland Street, Cambridge, CB4 3DL.
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Important Information
Refund requests must be made more than 48 hours in advance of the tasting to be guaranteed. Any requests made with less notice will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Buying your ticket early helps us plan for the right numbers and reduces the chance of us having to cancel. If we have to cancel or reduce the scale of an event, due to ticket-sale forecasting, we may have to refund some or all tickets.

Sherry has long been associated with Christmas as an indulgent tipple, especially for one’s grandmother! So we will finish on a festive note of 6 TOTAL🎄☃️

Sherry barrels are often used to age/finish whisky. In this way we get some of best expressions (disclaimer: this is not a statement of fact nor the opinion of the CUWAS Committee 😉). There are also many forms of sherry which impart different characteristics into the final product………..

Note, we will NOT be attempting to pour whisky the way the professional sherry sommelier is above!

Date: Friday 28th November 2025
Time: 7.30pm – 10.30pm
Venue: Studio room (upstairs), NCI Centre, 1 Holland Street, Cambridge, CB4 3DL.
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Important Information
Refund requests must be made more than 48 hours in advance of the tasting to be guaranteed. Any requests made with less notice will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Buying your ticket early helps us plan for the right numbers and reduces the chance of us having to cancel. If we have to cancel or reduce the scale of an event, due to ticket-sale forecasting, we may have to refund some or all tickets.

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If you want to enjoy the International Whisky tasting set (again) as your personal Yuletide treat OR perhaps as a gift pack for friends or family, we are offering 20mL sample bottles of the set to be collected at the Very Sherry Christmas event (on Friday 28/11/2025):

Weller Special Reserve: wheated bourbon from Buffalo Trace
Whittaker’s 2024 inaugural release: made with heritage barley from a new farm distillery in the Yorkshire Dales
Indri Agneya: Indian single malt made with peated heritage barley aged in bourbon and PX casks.
World Peat Blended Malt: designed for highballs, but destined to be sipped, our favourite whisky of the tasting is made with peated whisky of Swedish, German, and Scottish distilleries.
Macaloney’s Peat Project: Canadian single malt peated with local Peat and smoked sugar kelp, aged in Portuguese red wine STR casks
J Gow Fading Light: Scottish rum distilled on Orkney, aged for 6 years in chestnut casks

There are many forms of whisk(e)y from around the world with their own rules or lack thereof to compare with ”Scotch” and a plethora of other spirits completely different in manufacture and intent. We will present a selection of 6 to broaden all our horizons……….

The most obvious place to think of non-Scotch whiskies is the USA, famed for their bourbons & ryes.

Every populated continent on earth produce some kind of whisky from Mexico to Argentina (even maturing one of theirs in Antarctica!), South Africa, Europe e.g. France

Date: Friday 14th November 2025
Time: 7.30pm – 10.30pm
Venue: Hall, NCI Centre, 1 Holland Street, Cambridge, CB4 3DL.
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Our Michaelmas opening event continues with 6 more whiskies, again 2 each from another 3 regions: Campbeltown, The Islands & Speyside.

And because it’s Halloween, we can tell you some ghost stories related to the whiskies…….just think of a huge 🏰 or manor house with a roaring fire to set the scene!

Date: Friday 31st October 2025
Time: 7.30pm – 10.30pm
Venue: Hall (Downstairs), NCI Centre, 1 Holland Street, Cambridge, CB4 3DL.
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Important Information
Refund requests must be made more than 48 hours in advance of the tasting to be guaranteed. Any requests made with less notice will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Buying your ticket early helps us plan for the right numbers and reduces the chance of us having to cancel. If we have to cancel or reduce the scale of an event, due to ticket-sale forecasting, we may have to refund some or all tickets.