Just to convince yourself you haven't been wasting your money by following my advice (well, not all
of it anyway ;-) I suggest you take a single malt you know and love and pour about 20ml into each of
your different glasses. Next, take at least an hour to compare the noses and to see how the whisky
appears and develops quite differently in the different glasses. What a difference a glass makes...
That's why it's so important to always use the same type of glasses when you want to compare
two or more malts. Different glasses may cause you to mistake differences between those glasses
for differences between the whiskies inside the glasses. Obviously, that's not scientificly sound...

Until they've invented alcohol-free whisky, it's wise to pour your drams cautiously.
Usually, about 15 or 20 ml of malt whisky in a cognac bowl is all you need for a liquid
adventure that can last for at least half an hour. The average person should be able
to enjoy half a dozen malts on an evening without having to suffer the humiliation of
uncontrolled behaviour and speech or the discomfort of an hangover. Still, it's wise
to drink plenty of water during and after any session to help your liver do its work.

If you followed the grand masterplan I've laid out for you in this Beginner's Guide,
you should have bought and sampled a few different single malt whiskies by now.
And the fact that you're still reading proves that the whole experience must have
been not entirely unpleasant. Great! Than means you've joined the thousands of
connoisseurs who have discovered that those bag-piping, sheep-fondling Scots
have actually made a useful contribution to civilisation as well: Scotch whisky.

And don't forget about the right glassware. Like I mentioned in chapter 7, the shape and volume of
the glass have a distinct effect on your tasting experience. Pick your favorite glass and stick with it.
If your first few single malts have convinced you that you'd like to explore maltland a little bit further
you really should consider spending some money to do a glassware test of your own. Just spend two
or three tenners of maybe half a dozen different nosing glasses and see which one suits you best.

When you really want to explore the finer nuances of a single malt whisky, try tasting
it next to one or more other malts. The contrasts will make it easier to define the more
subtle elements in a malt. As a timid beginner you might start out with a 'head-to-head'
(a.k.a. H2H) tasting comparing a Lowland malt with a Speysider or an Island whisky with
one distilled in Campbeltown. Like I wrote in chapter 4, every region is supposed to have
a certain style; the Lowlands malts are very light and subtle, the Islay malts peaty and
overwhelming. You may not like a certain style, but how will you know if you don't try?

After your first few malts you may find out you actually quite like the stuff.
You might even like it so much that you want to try some more. Good for you!
But if you've paid attention you'll have learnt that single malt whisky contains alcohol.
And alcohol can do 'funny' things to the human body - not to mention the human mind.
It seems that the French have the peculiar habit of spitting out their wine and whisky,
but obviously that kind of behaviour is often frowned upon in more civilised societies.
Fortunately, there are many other ways to avoid unacceptable levels of intoxication.

After a while it may become more interesting to compare different malts from the same
region or different versions from the same distillery. Especially a 'Hopalong H2H' of 4 or 5
expressions from a distillery can be very educational (apart from being jolly good fun).

Your personal taste dictates whether you'll like a specific malt or not, but the whole point about enjoying SMSW is de enermous diversity in style and character. There really is a single malt for everybody; some are round and sweet while others are spicy, medicinal, nutty, fruity or flowery. Vive la difference! With some experience, you can discover the strangest fragrances in a malt. Everything depends on the water and barley that is used, the peating level of the malted barley, the size and shape of the stills, the experience of the stillman, the type, history and size of the cask used for maturation, etc.

Well, if you're not carried away that is - or you'll have a hangover to look forward to.
Chapter #9 of this guide deals with some practical issues regarding your daily dramming.
Issues like MODERATION for example; the difference between a whisky connoisseur and an obnoxious drunk isn't always apparent to the naked eye. GLASSWARE is an important (but often overlooked) topic as well; you can read more about it on this page. I've also written a few words about whisky tasting in general and HEAD-TO-HEAD TASTINGS and BLIND TASTINGS in particular. Last but not least, I've shared some thoughts about BENCHMARKING and SCORES below. These are all more or less 'practical' issues; if you're interested in some final bits of theory and trivia I suggest you browse onwards to chapter 10, the conclusion of this Beginner's Guide.

After you've been sampling sampling single malts for a while, it's almost unavoidable that you
develop some preconceptions about how some whiskies 'should' taste. These preconceptions
are usually based on either the price tag on the bottle or previous experiences with earlier
batches or other expressions. You can diminish 'the label effect' by sampling your malts blind.
If you happen to be the proud owner of a supportive girlfriend she can pour your glasses for
you, so you don't know what you're drinking. Otherwise, you'll just have to pour them yourself
the night before and do some heavy dramming to destroy the brain cells holding the memories
about the identity of each glass. Just kidding - a glass of whisky doesn't 'age' too well overnight.

Spread the gospel! Share your fun to double your fun. A SMSW should be shared to be enjoyed to the fullest.
The most enjoyable way to experience the wonderful world of single malts is enjoying them in good company.
So, why don't you organise a tasting session with some friends some time? I organize a tasting at least once
a month, and these sessions are always a lot of fun. Here's how you do it:  

  1 - Tell all your friends about Malt Madness and direct them to this guide
  2 - Pick a date as soon as you've assembled three or four accomplices
  3 - Have everybody pick and buy a bottle of single malt of their choosing (*)
  4 - Clean your apartment
  5 - Make sure you've got the right glassware (at least 2 glasses p/p)
  6 - Make sure you've got the right water (no bubbles)
  7 - Welcome your friends (and their bottles...)
  8 - Synchronize your watches
  9 - Start having fun!

(*) But wouldn't it be a bummer when everybody showed up with a bottle of Dalmore 12yo?
Yes, it would - even though the Dalmore 12 is a fine and recommendable dram in its own right.
The whole point of a tasting session is comparing several different malt whiskies to eachother.
So, some synchronization and preparation is necessary in order to have a successful tasting session.

And when you sit down to do the actual tasting, how do you express your feelings?
Describing the taste and aroma of a single malt is very hard, because several dozens of
different components work together to create the overall experience. Besides; everybody
has his or her own personal frame of reference. Specific aspects of the taste and aroma are
associated with previous experiences. This means that nobody really smells and tastes the
same things; it all depends very much on your 'conditioning' and the size and shape of your
nose and mouth. However, do not despair - once you've sat down with a few other malt
lovers for a while and shared a few drams you'll soon find a common vocabulary...

I know not every whisky lover agrees on this, but most certified malt maniacs find rating the
malts we try on a 1-100 scale very useful for expressing our feelings towards those whiskies.
Over time we've all found certain 'benchmark' single malts we got to know a little bit better.
As soon as you've investigated a few different single malts you'll be able to relate every new
whisky you try to these 'benchmark' malts. Do you like malt A a little bit better than malt B?
Is malt A more sherried than malt B? Does the finish of malt A last longer than that of malt B?
Obviously, it helps a lot if you keep tating notes and scores - that's how MM got started...

E-pistle: A Decade of Dramming
E-pistle: Rationalising My Mania
E-pistle: Blind Ambition
Malt Maniacs Matrix
-

When it comes to scoring the whiskies, we maniacs
use a 1-100 scale that's roughly comparable to the
50-100 (actually more like 55-95) scale used by the
writers Robert Parker and Michael Jackson. The main
difference is that for us, 50 is not the bottom line.
Our scale is supposed to include all alcoholic drinks
(beer, wine, sherry, port, cognac, wodka, rum, etc.)
and 50 points is the border between liking a certain
drink and not liking it. And since we're malt maniacs,
you can rest assured that we like most malt whiskies.
The 'average' score for a single malt is +/- 75 points.
We love everything that scores 80 points or more.

And if you like the idea of working with benchmarks, you might want to consider spending a little cash on a 'touchstone'
blend like Teacher's. It has a smooth and neutral profile that brings out the specifics of any single malt you put next to it.
While you are sniffing and slurping you can compare the single malts to the 'neutral' blend and also to eachother.
This makes it fairly easy to quickly determine what 'types' of single malt whisky are your particular favourites.
The examples I mentioned in the chapter about shopping are just a few of the many different styles that can
be distinguished and within every style there are dozens of different single malts available. You'll soon learn
that the 'regional' classification described in chapter 3 only skims the surface of the wide variety in styles.

O.K., we're almost finished. Let's proceed to the final chapter - a proper conclusion.

And much like sheep-fondling, distilling SMSW is a skill that's honed to perfection
during many years of practice. Given the dedication of the Scots to their craft,
I'd say the least we 'connoisseurs' can do is try to keep up with our drinking...
Practice makes perfect - and practising your drinking certainly is no punishment.

When you follow
the suggestions in
this guide by doing
some serious sampling
I strongly suggest you
make tasting notes
and give some sort
of score right away.
Fun & educational!