The Single Malt & Song Society

Attending SMSS

As much as we regret not being able to open up SMSS gatherings to all who are interested, we cannot.

Attendance at SMSS gatherings is by invitation only.  Anyone who has not received an explicit invitation is not welcome to attend.  Period.  End of story.

Among the reasons for this strict policy are liability and size limitations...

Liability: An SMSS gathering is essentially a private party held on private property, with large amounts of strong alcohol present. That alcohol could easily lead to some very unfortunate legal liability issues for the host, so we take the precaution of excluding strangers. We are always happy to make new friends, but everyone attending must be a friend of at least one SMSS regular.

Size limitations: We have found through experience that SMSS works best when we are all seated around a table and able to make eye contact with everyone present. Room-filled pub sings are loads of fun, but an SMSS works a bit differently, and it turns out SMSS works best when we have about twelve to eighteen attendees.  Many more (or fewer) tends to detract from the event.

So we have to keep a careful eye on both who and how many are attending.  But we are still very interested in having like-minded friends join us.  We have therefore formulated the following policies:

Asking for an invitation

The way to request an invitation to an SMSS gathering is to contact either the gathering organizer or whoever is hosting that month, and ask for one.  The host is the one bearing ultimate legal responsibility for what goes on, so the host has the final say over all attendance issues.  The organizer assists the host by acting as a sort of event coordinator, but always defers to the host in such matters.  Please do not be offended if you request an invitation and do not receive one; as noted above, we have limitations in the invitations we can extend.

 

Asking to bring a guest

The basic rule is that strangers are not welcome.  The guest you wish to bring is not a stranger to you, but may be to the host.  So if you have been invited and you would like to bring a guest, then you must request and receive explicit permission to do so from either the host or the organizer.  You should be prepared to vouch personally for this guest.  Whether or not the guest is invited is entirely up to the discretion of the host.  If the invitation is extended, then it includes the following stipulations:

1. The guest's attendance is contingent on yours, so if you can't come then neither can the guest. This includes last minute plan changes.
2. The guest should not arrive before you do.
3. The guest is not welcome to bring anyone else along.
4. The guest invitation is limited to the specified gathering for which it was requested.
5. You are responsible for ensuring that the guest understands the basic SMSS concept before arriving, including the following:
   • Each attendee, guests included, is expected to bring a bottle of single malt whisky to share.
     (Note: exceptions can be made to this rule, but please ask first.)
   • We may sing to excess, but we drink in moderation.
   • Each guest is expected, prior to attending, to have read through the full text of that month's invitation.
   • Each guest is expected, prior to attending, to have read through the "About SMSS" section of this site.