It's not that these whiskies don't show any sherry influence, but there's a class of Speyside malts
with a distinctly more sherried character. In the mid-1990's the undisputed heavyweight champion
of sherry monsters was Macallan. These days, I could just as easily recommend the Aberlour 10yo
or Glendronach 15yo matured in 100% sherry casks. Official bottlings from Benromach, Glenfarclas,
Glenrothes, Knockando, Longmorn, Tomatin and Tomintoul tend to be relatively sherried as well.

Single malt whiskies in the 'classic' Speyside style tend to be fairly accessible as well.
Cragganmore 12yo and Dalwhinnie 15yo both happen to part of UDV's 'Classic Malts' range
but they are not the only light, malty Speysiders that are widely available across the world.
The well known Glenfiddich 12yo fits the profile as well, although I personally prefer the Balvenie
10yo from 'Fiddich's sister distillery. Another excellent, accessible alternative is the Glenlivet 12yo.

A: Nothing. (Just browsing, thank you...)
B: About C 25.- (I'm mildly interested in SMSW.)
C: About C 100.- (Yeah, I'm getting in the mood, baby.)
D: About C 250.- (Woohoo! I'm getting all excited. Somebody stop me!)

Drinking a fine single malt is an almost sacred experience.
Acquiring that single malt, on the other hand, often isn't.
Here are a few tips to help you spend your money wisely.

Unless you decide to do your shopping on-line (more about
that later) you'll have to leave the comfort of your home to
visit a liquor store. But for many of us, just flying off to the
local liquorist isn't an option. First of all because the majority
of the liquorists only offer a small SELECTION of single malts.
One of the things that's unique about SMSW is the amazing
variety in character and style, so part of the fun is trying to
compare as many different single malts as humanly possible.

Browsing through a 'collection' of a dozen single malts might be fun when you're investigating a store for the
first time, but if you're anything like me you'll soon find that you need a wider selection to keep your curiosity
satisfied. My second selection criterium is the PRICE LEVEL of the stores. Thanks to the internet it's fairly
easy to compare prices these days, so there's no need to pay more than you have to for a single malt.

Alas, how rarely does a person find himself lucky enough
to live in the vicinity of a liquor store that meets all the
requirements I mentioned earlier? Very rarely, I tell you!
I live in a one mile radius from five different liquor stores
myself, but none of them really meets my requirements.
That means I have to travel to the centre of Amsterdam to
visit a liquorist with good service, a wide selection and decent prices.
In my case, this means that a trip to an acceptable liquorist (and back) takes up
at least two hours of my time - a rare and valuable commodity. Chances are that
you find yourself in a similar situation when you start looking for your first bottles.

Expensive stores sometimes offer better (or at least more) ADVICE than supermarkets or cornershops,
but many liquorists hardly know what they are talking about anyway, so once again I suggest you try
and use the internet as your source of information. You can find plenty of purely personal opinions on
the rest of Malt Madness, but it might be a good idea to check out Malt Maniacs and/or some of the
liquid links too if this guide has convinced you to spend some actual cash on a single malt whisky.
I'll focus on 'what to buy' later, but first you'll have to decide 'where to buy'.

So, you won't have any problems spending your first Euro's or dollars.
Which brings us to the next important question; how much should you spend?
Well, obviously that's entirely up to you - but assuming you're not a millionaire,
'as little as possible' sounds about right, doesn't it? When you are taking your
first shaky steps into maltland you will find out it can be quite intimidating and
maybe you don't even like it there. It would be wise to proceed with caution.
Below you'll find some suggestions regarding your initial whisky explorations.
Just follow the advice that matches your BUDGET and level of curiosity...
So, How much are you ready to invest in whisky at this point?

As far as other legal stuff is concerned; there are considerable differences in
rules and regulations in different countries, making it very hard for me to say
anything useful on the subject within the confines of this guide - so I won't...

OK - it's about time to find out for yourself what's so special about single malts, wouldn't you agree?
I've moaned about the troubles of finding a halfway decent liquorist nearby, but when you're taking your first shaky steps into the
wonderful world of single malt whisky that's the least of your problems. Even within a collection of one or two dozen malt whiskies
at your average local liquorist you should be able to find enough quality and variety to get you hooked. Besides, in this digital day
and age you could be living on the north pole and still have access to a wide range of malts at the hundreds of on-line stores.
With a credit card in your hands, you can quickly and easily order most of my liquid fixes from the comfort of my own home.

Which brings us back to the topic at hand: shopping for SMSW.
If you've already got a few single malts in your collection you can now happily skip
along to chapter 8 and educate yourself on the 'proper' way to enjoy a single malt.
But if you haven't, maybe it's about time you started looking for your first bottles.
After all, you made it to chapter 7 of this Beginner's Guide and so far it has mostly
been theory. The next chapters deal with the actual enjoyment of single malts and
other practical issues, so if you haven't got any single malt whiskies in the house
this would be as good a time as any to 'put your money where your mouse is'.
If you made it this far, you should be ready to spend some hard earned cash.

The Bang-For-Your-Buck List
E-pistle: The Whisky Hunt of a Tourist
E-pistle: Malt Whisky & Value
E-pistle: The Magic Price Point
E-pistle: If I Were A Rich Man

Admittedly, this is a fun way to get yourself acquainted with
the concept of single malts, but at the end of the evening you
will have learned only one thing: you either like or don't like that
particular single malt. This information isn't very useful, because
of the extreme differences between malts. The fact that you like
the Macallan 10yo doesn't mean you will like the Laphroaig 10yo,
for instance. Besides, depending on the clerk's taste in cheap
whiskies probably isn't the best way of going about things...

Hmmmm - so, you're one of those people, are you?
Never mind, even if you're still not ready to spend some real  money on SMSW there are ways of getting a few drams for free. Especially if you're a woman in posession of a short skirt it should be easy enough. Just dress up, go to a nearby bar (or better yet, one that's not so nearby ;-), go sit at the bar and start looking vacant. As if by magic, your first free drink should appear in front of you within minutes. If you're a guy, wearing a short skirt won't get you very far - well, at least not at your average bar. You may have to resort to leeching off SMSW-owning friends or drop subtle hints when your birthday or christmas is coming up. But why wait and go through all the trouble if you can have a perfectly legal encounter with SMSW for a mere 25 Euro's?

OK, if you're prepared to invest a modest amount (equivalent to the price of a decent middle class blend like Johnnie Walker Black, Dimple or Chivas Regal) in SMSW research there are several ways to go about it. The most obvious option (simply buying a bottle) is the easiest, and requires little or no intelligence at the purchasing end of the transaction.
Here's a quick 7-step guide for dummies:

There's one thing I should probably mention before I continue. The prices on Malt Madness are usually (more or less) valid in the largest part of the civilised world but there are some notable exceptions. I'm thinking in particular about the uncivilised prices in Scandinavian countries and in some emerging economies like India. I've heard the Indian government has lowered the barbaric tax of 800% on imorted liquor at the end of 2003, but it will probably be a while before Indian whisky lovers can enjoy a good single malt Scotch whisky as casually as malt maniacs in Europe or North America.

If you're not comfortable drinking alone, you could also take your 25 Euro's and taste a few different single malts in your local bar. Lucky sods like myself live in a city with a few specialised whisky bars that allow you to choose from a few hundred different malts. Unfortunately, most regular bars offer just a tiny selection of single malts and the noisy, smoky atmosphere isn't always the best way to experience a good malt whisky. If you do decide to go out, I recommend you ask specifically for a cognac glass. The good news for people depraved of good whisky bars within crawling distance is that more and more liquorists organise tutored tasting sessions for customers themselves. It might be worth it to ask about possible upcoming whisky tastings at nearby liquorists.

With that in mind, investing 100 Euro's doesn't seem excessive, does it?
And you'll be pleased to learn that such an investment is more than enough
to get you properly started on your voyage of discovery through maltland.
For one thing, you could take your 100 Euro's and invest them in a visit to
one of the growing number of whisky festivals. The admission fee itself will
probably not consume your entire investment, but when you consider travel
expenses you'll probably spend all your 100 Euro's on a single day. The good
news is that you should be able to sample dozens of different malt whiskies.
This will give you a pretty good idea of the amazing variety within SMSW.

And that concludes the part of chapter 7 about my SMSW selection for beginners.
But if you've managed to find yourself a proper liquorist (more about that later) you'll
find that buying five of these bottles hasn't entirely consumed your first investment.
You should have at least 50 Euro's left. Rather than spending it on yet another bottle,
I strongly suggest you invest in a few proper glasses (more about that in chapter 8)
and maybe even a book. For me, the 'Malt Whisky Companion' by Michael Jackson
(no, not the singing child molester, the one with the nose) has been a solid guide.

1 - Go off to your local liquorist
2 - Fork over your 25 Euro's
3 - Tell the clerk you want a cheap bottle of single malt
4 - Ask for a complementary gift-wrap
4 - Complement the clerk on his choice
5 - Go home and try it
6 - Try it some more
7 - Pass out

Not to worry though, there's an alternative which will allow you to try several different single malts for the price of a bottle of blended whisky. Many liquorists offer a set of miniature-bottles of the 'classic malts'. This selection was introduced by United Distillers (UDV) over a decade ago and the package contains some of my favourite single malts, all from different parts of Scotland. For a measly 20 or 25 Euro's you get the six different single malt whiskies depicted at the left. They are (from left to right) Dalwhinnie 15yo, Lagavulin 16yo, Cragganmore 12yo, Talisker 10yo, Oban 14yo and Glenkinchie 10yo. I tried it in 1992 and it helped me a lot in defining my tastes. The only disadvantage is that the samples are just 5cl - which makes them pretty poor value compared to a bigger 70, 75 or even 100cl bottle. If your liquorist doesn't have this set of classic malts he may have a selection of other single malts to choose from. You can find some suggestions on the Bang-For-Your-Buck List in the mAlmanac.

Alternatively, you can spend your 100 Euro's on a few big bottles.
They offer far better value than 5cl miniatures and, what's more, they will
give you the opportunity to enjoy a few malts over a longer period of time.
Especially if you're not used to drinking strong liquor it may take you a while
to get accustomed to the alcohol before you can distinguish the more subtle
elements doing their own thing in the background. Your budget should allow
you to buy yourself three big bottles (70, 75 or 100cl) of decent malt whisky.
Scroll down for an overview of several single malts suitable for beginners.
You can also check out the Malt Maniacs Matrix if you feel adventurous.

The correct answer to my question about your willingness to invest was 'D', of course!
With 250 Euro's in your pocket you could play the big spender and go for a top notch bottle on the top shelf of your liquorist. Although you'll be able to bring tears of envy to the eyes of any whisky loving friends with a bottle of Macallan 25yo or Brora 30yo, it might be wise to spread your first investment around a bit. This will allow you to explore some of the different regional styles that make investigating SMSW such an adventure. For the purpose of this Beginner's Guide, I've identified five different styles;

This particular style division is just one of dozens of possible 'CLASSIFICATIONS ' when it comes to Scotch single malts.
It's slightly different from the strictly geographical classification from chapter 3 but it should work for the purpose of this guide.
Obviously, this arbitrary selection doesn't cover all available styles. For example, with selecting two types of single malt whisky
from the 'Speyside' region in the heart of the Highlands I've neglected the Northern, Western, Eastern and Southern Highlands.
My selection for beginners also excludes whiskies from the Campbeltown region - and non-Scottish single malts, for that matter.

A soft, gentle
Lowland malt like
Glenkinchie 10yo or
Auchentoshan 10yo.

A classic
Speysider like
Dalwhinnie 15yo or
Cragganmore 12yo.

A sherried
Speysider like
Aberlour 10yo or
Glenfarclas 10yo.

A coastal
Islander like
Talisker 10yo or
Highland Park 12yo.

A peaty
Islay malt like
Laphroaig 10yo
or Lagavulin 16yo.

After all, the place of birth is just one of the factors shaping a single malt.
Peating levels of the malt, the wood type used for maturation and the time
the whisky spends inside the cask are just as important. Even experienced
malt connoisseurs are easily fooled if you include a Brora in any blind line-up.
This (now defunct) distillery in the Northern Highlands used very high peating
levels, producing a whisky that's easily mistaken for an Islay peat monster.
And even though Lowlanders are considered to be light and mellow, they just
need some time in a good sherry cask to blow any Speysider matured in refill
bourbon casks out of the water. So, there are no hard regional style borders.
But once again my train of thought has left the station steaming towards
an unknown destination somewhere far beyond the cliffs of insanity...
I was elaborating on the five 'SMSW styles for beginners'.

The first style is that of the light Lowlanders like Auchentoshan 10yo or Glenkinchie 10yo.
Although the Auchentoshan 'Three Wood' at the right is a bad example of a Lowlander, it's a
fine example of the point I just made about some bottlings not conforming to regional styles.
While the normal 10yo is light and transparent like a triple distilled Lowlander is supposed to be,
the extensive wood treatment of the 'Three Wood' masks the original distillery character.
I have to admit that the young Lowland whiskies are not among my personal favourites, but
they tend to be fairly accessible and they'll probably feel most familiar and 'normal' to people
used to drinking blended Scotch whisky.

The fourth style is the Island style, although I should point out that this classification is highly arbitrary.
Officially the islands are part of the Highlands region. However, the distance between the islands Arran (just a few miles east of the Campbeltown peninsula) and Orkney (north of the Northern Highlands) is far greater than the distance between the Lowlands and Speyside. It is therefor not surprising that the whiskies from relatively southern islands like Arran, Mull and Jura are different from those that were born on the northern islands Skye and Orkney. To tell you the truth, I only picked Highland Park 12yo and Talisker 10yo because I love them both and I think there's a good chance you will as well. So, sue me ;-)

There may be many differences between different 'Island' whiskies, but when a whisky
comes from one particular island there's little chance you'll mistake it for something else.
That island is Islay of course. No matter what type of cask they used or for how long the
cask has been left alone to mature, an Islay whisky wears its peaty heart on its sleeve.
That's why Islay is the only island that is also a single malt region all by itself.

The main reason for including only 'official' bottlings in this arbitrary beginner's selection
is the fact that many independent bottlings hardly conform to the official house style.
In fact, many independent single cask bottlings come from casks that were rejected by
the distillery because they don't fit the desired profile. Trying a Speysider that displays
all the traits attributed to a Lowlander would only confuse the novices in maltland.
However, the character of the peaty spirit from an Islay distillery is so distinctive that
you could 'safely' buy any independent Islay bottling for a peaty punch in your stomach.
You'll either love or hate the distinctive peaty aroma and taste of an Islay single malt.

Now we've established what to buy, it's time to look at the next question; where to buy these bottles.
Once again, you're invited to proceed to chapter 8 if you already have a few different single malts in the house.
If you haven't, it's time to find yourself a whisky dealer. If you live in a moderately civilised city you should be able to find the single malts I mentioned at relatively reasonable prices. I tried to select a package of whiskies that offer good value and are available almost anywhere in the world. However, if you live in a town, area or country with unusually high prices for whisky the idea of ON-LINE SHOPPING becomes a valid alternative. Especially in area's where the supply of malts is limited an on-line shop could offer an interesting way of discovering single malt whiskies that would otherwise not have been available to you.
It's hard to put a price on the amazing experience of opening an undiscoverd malt for the first very time.

Wheter or not on-line shopping will work for you is a difficult question to answer in general terms.
Are you just a novice wandering around aimlessly in the confusing world of single malts, or a seasoned imbiber
who knows precisely what he wants? For those of us with some malts under our belts, choosing the whiskies
we want is fairly easy. Novices, on the other hand, may find it very hard to make a choice because most of
the on-line shops offer little or no background information about the single malts on offer. Fortunately, 'fresh'
shoppers should be able to find plenty of inside information in magazines, books or elsewhere on this website.

However, buying your single malts on-line has one major drawback compared to conventional shopping.
There's no instant gratification and you may have to wait for a few weeks before your order is delivered.
And that's assuming your order gets delivered at all - some of the malt maniacs have suffered liquid losses.
That makes on-line shopping something for whisky lovers with a moderate temperament and nerves of steel.
And don't forget about shipping costs and possible taxes. Taxes are supposed to be unavoidable, but when
it comes to shipping costs I found some considerable differences between various shops. So, make sure to
check and compare carefully before you buy on-line. You might be able to save a few euro's in the bargain.

And that pretty much wraps up my 'shopping tips'.
There's just one last warning regarding international shopping I'd like to share.
When you buy on-line from a store in your own country or state, you'll only
have to deal with the ordinary local sales tax. International purchases, on the
other hand, can be quite another story. Many countries (especially within the
European Union) don't effectively tax small shipments of liquor, but sometimes
you can't legally import more than a litre of whisky (or other liquor) duty free.
That effectively means you sometimes pay taxes twice on foreign bottles.

And there's an added incentive to buying your whiskies from an international on-line store.
Sometimes a new single malt becomes available in one part of the world while others have to wait a year or more
for the very same bottling. Check out the Liquid Links section for the URLs of some stores that deliver worldwide.
One more advantage of on-line shops is that some of them also offer litre bottles (usually reserved for duty free).
These tend to offer more 'bang for your bucks' and you usually get a good few extra drams for free - if it were...

And that's really the last bit of 'theory' in this guide - now it's time for the actual enjoyment of single malt whisky.
Knowledge is power, but there's nothing like the actual tasting experience to make you understand what's so interesting about single malts and why a growing number people are growing increasingly crazy about it. The next chapter tells you precisely how. Why not expand your horizons and find out for yourself what all the fuss is about?  However, I think I should warn you...
You might get hooked like me and you'll be never be able to enjoy an "ordinary" scotch in quite the same way again...