For those of you not yet in the know Edinburgh has its own whisky society.

Originally based in the old Vaults of Leith and started as a venture between friend with a passion for old and rare single cask malt whiskies the Scottish Malt Whisky Society now boasts over 65,000 members worldwide.

Having been a roaring success at Leith, with its open fires, comfy green leather armchairs and sofas, impressive drinks and food menus and even self contained luxury accommodation for those unable or unwilling to leave, the owners of this fine club decided to make their impression on the New Towns folk as well.

Opened in 2004 at 28 Queens Street this venue has been extensively refurbished but without diluting or losing any of the original Georgian charms  (in fact probably enhancing as it has indoor bathroom facilities!). Downstairs is reserved for food in the fantastic restaurant and lies to the left of the reception desk where you will be warmly greeted by either Campbell or Kris and directed up the sweeping staircase to one of the members rooms. Here you will find two well designed spaces with real flame fires (most welcome on the blustery night of our visit) surrounded by plush, comfortable and modern sofas. One of the rooms is designated non-smoking so we found a place at the windows at the back of the other where we sat back and enjoyed a few drinks and cigars.

This was the first visit for my guests and they are not quite as enthusiastic about whisky as me (who is?) so they let me do the ordering as all Society bottlings only have the number of a distillery and not the name but helpful bar staff are always at hand. First up was the Malt of the Moment a fine, soft and fruity Speysider, great for starters accompanied by Budweiser lagers (the Czechoslovakian variation), and a glass of Pinot Grigio for the girls. As the night progressed we upped the anti with the whiskies moving from soft Lowlanders from Rosebank and Bladnoch (as the girls found out that he did like whisky) to the more rugged Islay offerings from Ardbeg and Laphroaig as we smoked on fine cigars; I had a Trinidad Reyes and Jamie a smaller Charatan. It was also very encouraging to see that we were not the only ones enjoying quality cigars.

As the hours passed we found ourselves hungry so we ordered from the bar snacks menu. A full menu is available downstairs and at 10 for two courses, 14 for three and although excellent value we settled for Soup (unfortunately the only vegetarian option), Haggis, Neeps and Tatties and the Steak Sandwich with Chips. Boy were they good! My haggis came in a round dish layered with a generous amount; the soup came with plenty of bread and butter, and the sandwiches with a portion of garlic mayo and the thickest chips I have ever seen. Everyone was more than happy and full to bursting.

Although I will always be at home in the vaults I am ecstatic that there is another venue of equal quality just a stones throw away from our own Edinburgh base. So the next time you come in and see us at Rose Street dont hesitate to ask for directions to 28 Queens Street.

Best wishes