But before you go off gallivanting through maltland (and the rest of this website)
there are just a few last bits of wisdom and experience I'd like to share with you.
In chapter 7 I already gave you some ideas on how to spend your money on malts.
How much you want to spend on your first experiences is entirely up to you, but
if you're anything like me you'll soon find yourself going back for more - and more.

Hey - What are you still doing here? This section of the archives is strictly for beginners!
And after working your way through nine chapters of trivial trivia about single malt Scotch whisky
(and hopefully a few bottles as well) you can no longer claim to be a 'beginner' in the whisky world.

As I explained earlier, this is an old version of the Beginner's Guide.
The new Malt Madness site will most likely have a new and improved
version available by the time you read this, so you could check there
if you want to expand your theoretical knowledge about the basics.

When you choose your bottles, keep in mind that age doesn't improve everything.
I personally prefer the 12yo Balvenie Doublewood over its 15yo sibling for example.
An older whisky isn't necessarily 'better' than a younger one; especially if you're
not too fond of the very pronounced woody character that some older malts get
after spending 20 years or more in a wooden cask. Although older doesn't always
mean better, most of the time it does equal a considerable financial bloodletting.

Is it worth it? Well, that's not for me to decide - it all depends on the size of your curiosity and your wallet.
My advice to all you 'beginners' out there would be to start with some more reasonably priced malts to build
a frame of reference. After you've discovered what type of whisky you like, you can safely splash out a bit.

Alternatively, insecure beginners could try to trust someone else's senses.
I guess you could try to teach your dog how to smell your whisky for you, but in
this case I was thinking more along the lines of trusting the noses and palates of
the 'dirty dozen'. You can find our scores on over 1500 malts in the MMMatrix.

And when you're splashing out, make sure not to judge a bottle by it's 'niceness'.
The Cardhu vatted malt, for instance, comes in a wonderful kitschy bottle, but it
isn't the best whisky available for that kind of money. The bottles of Aberlour 10yo,
Laphroaig 10yo or Talisker 10yo may look fairly plain, but the whisky inside is great!
So, don't be swayed by the looks of a sleek, sexy bottle - you may find that the
whisky inside doesn't have the character and sophistication you had expected.
In fact, instead of trusting your eyes, you'd better trust your nose and tongue.

Sounds boring, you say?  Well, maybe...
I guess you could take a quick trip to the nearest liquorist to find yourself one or two
nice bottles to explore; just to practice a little bit with your recently gained knowledge.
After all, there's very little in my Liquid Log or the twenty earlier issues of Malt Maniacs
that could ever compare to the actual experience of nosing and drinking a glass of malt.
Just make sure to choose your first bottles wisely and don't spend too much money on
overpriced 'premium' whiskies. In order to make sure about that, you may have to take
a short trip to the Bang-For-Your-Buck List that's included elsewhere in this archive.

That's it for now - I think I have covered about all you need to know for your exploration of maltland.
Which takes us to a 'fork in the road' of sorts - from this point onward, you can take various directions...

Alternatively, you can stick around for the rest of the guided tour of
the archives along my Track Record, all records in my Liquid Log and
the first twenty issues of Malt Maniacs - to name just a few things.

Whatever route you decide to take, my work among the unwashed masses is finally done. That means: Class dismissed!