Why we do the maniacs do what they do?

Why do we spend so much of our free time on whisky?
Because we're passionate about one of the few remaining 'authentic' products in the
world. With the malt whisky world growing ever more corporate, that authenticity is
under constant threat. It's ironic that passionate amateurs like the maniacs are
sometimes more concerned with the authenticity of the product than the industry
itself. An interesting example is the 'fakes' issue. Where industry organisations like
the SWA (Scotch Whisky Association) and 'Keepers of the Quaich' were and are quite
happy to ignore the problem of the many fake 'antique' bottlings flooding the market,
the maniacs and a few other independent enthusiasts tried to do their part in solving
the problem.
 
Unlike the people working in the industry or the whisky trade, most maniacs don't
MAKE any money from whisky. In fact, the website still COSTS us money - and the
ever growing costs of traffic to our website(s) started to exceed the relatively limited
means of founder Johannes van den Heuvel some time ago. When he came up with
the sensible suggestion to allow a few selected advertisers on the website or use
something like 'Google Ads' the maniacs voted to all pay a modest 'membership fee'
instead. You can read more about our principles in the Malt Maniacs Manifesto.

And why don't we have an 'open forum' like the Vox Populi section anymore?
Well, we gradually learned that not everybody that posts messages on forums
does so for the right reasons. Some people are simply in love with the sound of their
own virtual voice while others might have hidden 'commercial' motives. That's why
we closed the open forum in 2001 and keep a watchful and skeptical eye on the
E-pistles that are submitted.
 

Who are the people behind this website?

Well, that would be me - 'Editor in Chief' Johannes van den Heuvel - together with circa 24 other 'malt maniacs'.
Some of those malt maniacs are content with submitting the occasional E-pistle while others play a more active and editorial role.
First and foremost, there's Frenchman Serge Valentin who is in control of the WhiskyFun website. Fellow Frenchman Olivier Humbrecht who handles the logistics for the Malt Maniacs Awards from his vinyard in France each year deserves a special mention too, as well as the three professional whisky writers on the team; Charles MacLean, Dave Broom and Martine Nouet. You can find an overview of the other team members on the 'locals' page of this website... The 'Personal Profiles' of most of these maniacs can be found in the ADHD section for now.
Fresh profiles will be integrated with the new site as soon as possible. 

Search the Malt Madness site for general information aimed at relative novices
in the world of single malts, like a beginner's guide, information about the
'traditional' Scottish whisky regions and statistics on malt whisky distilleries.
 
Search the Malt Maniacs site for facts & fiction about the finer details of the
alchemical process that gives us single malt whisky. The certified malt maniacs
freely dispense wit and wisdom about the wonderful world of malt whisky.
 
Search the Whiskyfun site for the incredibly sophisticated tasting notes
of Serge Valentin or the concert reviews from Nick Morgan and Dave Broom.
Serge also writes about motorcycles, philosophy and other 'finer things in life'.

Do you have any questions? If they are 'general' questions about single malt whisky
or the Malt Madness | Malt Maniacs | WhiskyFun trinity of whisky sites it would
probably be best to check out the Malt Madness site - either the 'Help' page for
'technical' questions or the Beginner's Guide for all the basics about the water
of life; single malt whisk(e)y. On this page I'll try to answer a few hypothetical
questions about the Malt Maniacs part of our on-line whisky trinity.
 
Questions like What is and/or are the 'Malt Maniacs'? (an introduction to our
whisky collective and the scope of our mission), Why do we do what we do?
(some thoughts about the 'mission statement' of the 24 certified malt maniacs),
Who are the members of the malt maniacs? (credentials of the certified malt
maniacs and a few 'foreign correspondents'), Where are the maniacs located?
(which parts of the world have been 'colonised' by the certified malt maniacs?)
and When can we expect another update? (what's in store in the near future?).
If you have any other questions, use the Google search boxes; the one at the
left searches all three web sites, the ones at the right just the site you choose.

Where are the malt maniacs located?

This section (designed to help you find your way around the website) will take shape at some point in the future.
We may work on our plans for a 'whisky layer' for Google Earth or try to combine 'MaltMaps' with our database. Join the 'Mixed Messages' mailinglist (see address below) if you want to stay updated on the developments.

The 'where' question could also apply to 'where to find certain information.
Please bear with me while I try to finish the structure of this website. Once I'm done I can get to work on the sitemap. 
 

When can we expect another update?

Do you want to know when the next issue of Malt Maniacs will be published?
Just join the 'mixed messages' mailinglist and you'll be informed by e-mail when the next issue is published.
We generally try to get together one fresh issue by the first of each month, but sometimes we publish 'sneak previews' and 'special editions' for the members of the mailinglist as well. On this page you can find a few nuggets of sound advice to help you travel safely through the whisky world as well as this website. We wouldn't want you to injure yourself while browsing the MM website.

When it comes to events like whisky festivals you can check out the World Wide Whisky Events page.
It is mainained by Konstantin Grigoriadis from Greece. Drop him a message if you think you know of an event that's worthy of inclusion in the list - you can find his address at the bottom of the WWWE page.
 

Let's see, what else?
Ah, yes... The bug on the old site with overlapping text on some browsers has now been solved. However, the 'price' is some empty room at the bottom of many pages. Ah well, I guess you could use that extra space to scribble notes on...

Do you have any other questions?
If they're questions about single malt whisky, it would be best to check out the Beginner's Guide on Malt Madness.
Information, opinions and tips about whisky is the only sort of guidance that you can expect on these pages, I'm afraid. We can't offer much in the area of fundamental questions like 'why are we here?' and other heavy stuff - you'll have to figure out all that for yourself...

What is and/or are the 'Malt Maniacs'?

Malt Maniacs is the name for both this website and an international collective of (circa) 24 independent malt whisky aficionados.
The 'collective' (an on-line community with some 'deluxe' features) developed on the World Wide Web around the Malt Madness
website that founder Johannes van den Heuvel launched in 1995. Several visitors to the Malt Madness site started posting their
comments for the enjoyment and education of other whisky lovers in 1997 - the international 'Malt Maniacs' community gradually
evolved from there. When we had grown to 12 members in 2002 we launched our own E-zine and some novel features like the
Malt Maniacs Matrix (our scores for thousands of different single malt whiskies) already attracted quite a few visitors to the site.
You can find out more about the members of our team on the 'locals' page - while the MM Manifesto provides background info
about some of our ideals & principles. Don't mistake us for idealists just because we have ideals though; we simply like to drink.