You should be able to find just about everything we've published through the links on this page.
Just use the links above (or scroll down) for a quick overview of all the E-pistles in a certain issue of Malt Maniacs. Except for the interviews and JOLT-transcripts, all the E-pistles in an issue of Malt Maniacs are published on one single page. This allows you to make the most of the 'Find' function of your browser if you're looking for opinions about specific distilleries or single malts. Nifty, eh?

Malt Maniacs #0 - A collection of prE-pistles, written for Malt Madness between 1996 and 2001

prE-pistles by Craig Daniels (1998-2001)
During the first few years of Malt Madness Craig has been our most prolific correspondents.
He has been sending us monthly reports of the adventures of the 'Earls of Zetland' - perhaps Australia's noblest whisky club.
By Craig Daniels, Adelaide, Australia

prE-pistles by Louis Perlman (1998-2001)
During the larva-stage of Malt Maniacs Louis produced 35 prE-pistles, covering a wide variety of topics. Louis focusses mainly on independent bottlings.
By Louis Perlman, New York, USA

prE-pistles by Davin de Kergommeaux (1999-2001)
Severely handicapped in a government controlled whisky market like Canada, Davin still manages to keep up with the other maniacs.
By Davin de Kergommeaux, Ottawa, Canada

prE-pistles by Klaus Everding (2000-2001)
Klaus is the no-nonsense maniac. He likes his malts strong and cheap.
But that doesn't mean he avoids a good analytical discussion.
By Klaus Everding, Hamburg, Germany

prE-pistles by Krishna Nukala (2000-2001)
Krishna is the pilgrim among us. He has made several pilgrimages to Scotland and written colourful reports about them.
By Krishna Prasad Nukala, Mumbai, India

prE-pistles by Patrick Whaley (2000-2001)
Until the team transformed into the twelve certified malt maniacs, Patrick was 'the new kid on the block'.
Then he moved on to bigger and bolder malts.
By Patrick Whaley, Minneapolis, USA

prE-pistles by Roman Parparov (2000-2001)
As a self-proclaimed 'whisky tourist' Roman is one of the few people in Israel promoting the consumption of SMSW.
By Roman Parparov, Tel Aviv, Israel
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Malt Maniacs #1   -  January 1, 2002
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An interview with Derek Gilchrist
E-pistle #01/01 - by Patrick Whaley, USA
Some time before the launch of Malt Maniacs our dashing American correspondent Patrick Whaley did an interview with Derek Gilchrist, Marketing Director at Morrison Bowmore.

A Decade of Dramming
E-pistle #01/02 - by Johannes van den Heuvel , Holland
Ignorance is bliss. Just like many people, I was quite content with drinking cheap blended whisky for many years. When you don't know single malt whisky, there's no reason to spend money on it, right? After discovering SMSW in 1991 my condition deteriorated rapidly.

Seven Steps to Malt Mania 
E-pistle #01/03 - by Serge Valentin, France
The first E-pistle from our fresh French correspondent proves that Frenchmen do actually have a sense of humour.
Well - some of them anyway ;-)

Desert Island Malts
E-pistle #01/04 - by Davin de Kergommeaux, Canada
Davin made a list of the Top 3 (commercial) single malts he would most dearly miss if he got himself stranded on a desert island.
It's useful to think about these things, you know...

My Three True Loves
E-pistle #01/05 - by Klaus Everding, Germany
Klaus picked his 3 'Desert Island' malts as well. True to his nature he considered 'value' considerations as well.
He chose an all weather selection, suitable for summertime as well as 'Hamburger Schmuddelwetter'. Smart thinking.

My Favorite Three Commercial Malts
E-pistle #01/06 - by Craig Daniels, Australia
Craig chimed in with his Desert Island malts too.
Three highly recommendable malts, available to one and all.

Top 3 Malts
E-pistle #01/07 - by Louis Perlman, USA
Louis is remains a little vague about his precise preferences.
Neverthess, I think it's a fair review of the best malts available to American audiences these days.

Another Day In Paradise
E-pistle #01/08 - by Klaus Everding, Germany
In January, German correspondent Klaus visited Johannes in Amsterdam for another mega malt session.
A lot of malts were drunk and a lot of fun was had by all...

A Perfect 10
E-pistle #01/09 - by Krishna Nukala , India
India may be developing at an astonishing rate on an economic level, but when it comes to single malts it's still a 'developing nation'. Krishna Nukala bravely endures the hardships of being a malt maniac in India (and Bo Derek helps a little...)

My Top 10 Explained
E-pistle #01/10 - by Louis Perlman, USA
American maniac Louis Perlman's presents us with a rather ambiguous Top 10 that requires some legwork - and an explanation.
You could say it's 'interactive', I guess...

Shorthand Highlights of 2001
E-pistle #01/11 - by Craig Daniels, Australia
Australian maniac Craig reviews 2001 from 'Down Under'.
His retrospective includes a review of the best single malts of 2001 and reflections on the major malt events.

JOLT Transcript - Laphroaig
E-pistle #01/12 - by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland
On December 22, 2001 malt maniacs around the world joined each other in cyberspace for the very first official JOLT.
We concentrated our tasting efforts on the ultimate 'antifreeze' distillery; Laphroaig.
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Malt Maniacs #2  - April 1, 2002
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An interview with Mark Reynier 
E-pistle #02/01 - by Serge Valentin, France
Our fresh French correspondent Serge Valentin managed to get hold of Mark Reynier in London for an 'exclusive' interview.
Mark is one of the founders of Murray McDavid and Managing Director at the Bruichladdich distillery on Islay.

Diary of a Mini Malt Safari  
E-pistle #02/02 - by Davin de Kergommeaux, Canada 
Canadian maniac Davin once described himself as a 'globetrotting bureaucrat'. This time, his duties took him to the dark continent of Africa. Much like people like Stanley and Livingstone, Davin devoted his time to exploration.

Trio de Violincelles en Islay Majeur 
E-pistle #02/03 - by Serge Valentin, France
With a little help from his friends Serge Valentin tried to find the best peaty malt in the French hypermarkets - a H2H comparison of Ardbeg 10yo, Laphroaig 10yo and Lagavulin 16yo. Do you want to know who won? Read the E-pistle!

A New Phase of Malt Madness
E-pistle #02/04 - by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland
By December 2001, Dutch maniac Johannes had sampled at least 1 bottle from every active distillery in Scotland. What to do next? How about the 'Scotland by Dram' project?

The Whisky Hunt of a Tourist
E-pistle #02/05 - by Roman Parparov, Israel
Roman's latest shopping spree report reads like an old fashioned spy thriller.
Dashing around Europe Roman found some 'safe houses' for the true malt maniac.

My March Tastings
E-pistle #02/06 - by Serge Valentin, France
Some more 'Chinese Portrait' samplings by Serge.

Tasting A Legend
E-pistle #02/07 - by Patrick Whaley, USA
Many of us have heard of the famous 'Black Bowmore', but few people have actually ever gotten the chance to sample it.

Pro's & Con's of Old Age
E-pistle #02/08 - by Louis Perlman, USA
Time, flowing like a river... Louis ponders the pro's and con's of old age and the parallels between life and whisky.

The Influence of Age
E-pistle #02/09 - by Davin de Kergommeaux, Canada 
Age does not always equal maturity - at least not according to Davin who sheds his light on the 'age' topic.

Ages of Macallan
E-pistle #02/10 - by Klaus Everding, Germany
Klaus contributes to the age discussion in a very German fashion: an experiment. He compared 3 Macallan OB's.

The Age Issue
E-pistle #02/11 - by Patrick Whaley, USA
American maniac Patrick also picked the Macallan range to try and find some answers to the age old question.

JOLT  Transcript - Aberlour
E-pistle #02/12 - by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland
The target for our second JOLT was the Aberlour distillery.
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Malt Maniacs #3  - July 1, 2002
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An interview with Raymond Armstrong 
E-pistle #03/01 - by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland
The number of active Lowland distilleries has dropped at an alarming rate over the last decades.
For a while, it seemed like Bladnoch would share the fate of Saint Magdalene and Ladyburn, forever lost to Lowland lovers around the world. Fortunately, Irishman Raymond Armstrong came to the rescue. We thought we'd ask him a few questions about his adventures in the whisky industry.

Aqua Dolce Vita 
E-pistle #03/02 - by Serge Valentin, France
French jet-setting maniac Serge travels thousands of miles in his search for malts.
Before joining 4 other maniacs for the DrAmsterdam Festival in June he hopped over to Italy to soak up some culture and score a few special bottles.

Report Feis Ile 2002 
E-pistle #03/03 - by Michael Wade, USA
American maniac Michael Wade made his way to Islay for Feis Ile 2002; a festival of whisky and music. Every year the distilleries open their doors and bottles for all to experience and celebrate the fierce independence and rugged beauty of the island, its people and its whisky.

The Islay Festival: Miss & Mess
E-pistle #03/04 - by Serge Valentin, France
After a time of bliss on Islay French maniac Serge fell victim to the Heathrow chapter of the airport thieving guild.
Those guys seem to have a nose for single malts because this is not the first horror story I've heard. Bastards!

Maltmadness in Amsterdam
E-pistle #03/05 - by Klaus Everding, Germany
Shortly after the Islay Festival the malt maniacs had their own little whisky festival in Holland. With 'only' five malt maniacs attending I think we can safely call it the smallest whisky festival in the world; three days of dramming and drooling. German maniac Klaus wrote a full report.

Private Pleasures
E-pistle #03/06 - by Louis Perlman, USA
American maniac Louis Perlman came up with a fresh discussion topic.
He suggested we tackle the topic of 'private' or independent bottlings. Good call. 

Ode To Independent Bottlers
E-pistle #03/07 - by Craig Daniels, Australia
Craig chimes in. Most of us started our discovery of maltland with the well-known official bottlings.
But sooner or later every malt maniac wanders off into IB territory. 

Whisky or IMFL?
E-pistle #03/08 - by Krishna Nukala, India
It is said that more 'Johnny Walker Red Label' is consumed in India than is distilled at Dufftown.
Officially, Indian distillates (often molasses based) are not allowed to be called whisky.
Hence the name: 'Indian Made Foreign Liquor'.

Seasonal Malts
E-pistle #03/09 - by Louis Perlman, USA
Different malts shine at different moments. Louis has made a list with a malt for every month.
His 'seasonal suggestions' might come in handy if you're planning a shopping trip.

Clouds of Smoke
E-pistle #03/10 - by Roman Parparov, Israel
Although many maniacs frown upon smoking when it comes to any kind of 'serious' sampling, there are some derelict dissidents among our ranks. Roman Parparov is one of them. His E-pistle deals with the forbidden pleasures of pipe smoking and the best tobacco & malt combo's.

My First E-pistle
E-pistle #03/11 - by Matti Jaatinen, Finland
Being a 'malt minion', Matti needed some time to collect enough courage to share his thoughts with the rest of the world.
But once he started writing he didn't stop until he had written a full review of his alcoholic adventures in 2002.

JOLT  Transcript - Macallan
E-pistle #03/12 - by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland
The Macallan JOLT in June 2002 proved a haunting suspicion: the touchstone sherried Speysider is losing some of its former glory.
Ain't that a crying shame?
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Malt Maniacs #4  - October 1, 2002
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An interview with Olivier Humbrecht
E-pistle #04/01 - by Serge Valentin, France
Olivier is a rather famous wine maker. And guess what?
He loves drinking single malts almost as much as drinking (and making) wine!
What's more, he knows a great deal about wood, casks and maturation processes.

Glassware Test 
E-pistle #04/02 - by Klaus Everding, Germany
During the Malt Maniacs DrAmsterdam Maltathon 2002 we casually discussed the topic of glassware. Most of us forgot about it quickly afterwards, but not German maniac Klaus. He's a physicist and likes to do tests. He compared six different glasses and the results are remarkable.

Whisky Hill Dram Jam 2002 
E-pistle #04/03 - by Michael Wade, USA
American maniac Michael dug up a report on a big 3 day dramming session earlier this year with some others from the PLOWED gang.
Although the WHDJ only lasted for three days the report covers some thirty different single malts.

Summertime Blues
E-pistle #04/04 - by Serge Valentin, France
After experiencing the chaos and alcohol-abuse at the 2002 DrAmsterdam Maltathon,
Serge's nose, palate and mind needed a recalibration. What better way to do that than with a mega-tasting session with 16 different Lowlanders?

A Short Note on Indian Single Malt
E-pistle #04/05 - by Krishna Nukala, India
Krishna reports on his encounters with the the only genuine Indian single malt whisky: Mcdowells. Or isn't it?

Malt Whisky & Value For Money
E-pistle #04/06 -  by Craig Daniels, Australia
The scores in the matrix reflect how much we like a whisky, not how much we like to pay the price for that whisky.
To solve this Craig has invented an inventive formula to calculate the 'QPR' (Quality Price Ratio) of a whisky. 

The Magic Price Point
E-pistle #04/07 -  by Louis Perlman, USA
According to calculating New Yorker Louis Perlman, value is that magic price point that will maximize the enjoyment of one's purchase, while minimizing the detrimental effect on other acquisitions.

Malts for Nothing, Peat for Free
E-pistle #04/08 -  by Klaus Everding, Germany
Going against his German physicist nature, Klaus resisted the urge to develop his own QPR formula.
Instead, he offers some thoughts and a 'Value' Top 10.

If I Were A Rich Man...
E-pistle #04/09 -  by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland
I couldn't resist sharing a few more words on this topic as well.
Especially with an increase of alcohol taxes here in Holland on the way this is becoming an expensive hobby.

Paris Whisky Festival Report
E-pistle #04/10 -  by Serge Valentin, France
On September 23 there was a big whisky festival in Paris. Of course, French maniac Serge was there too.
Serge did some heavy dramming and got the chance to speak to Iain Henderson, Jim McEwan and the Symington brothers.

My Life As A Malt Minion - A Look Back 
E-pistle #04/11 -  by Patrick Whaley, USA
Patrick recently broke the 50 malts barrier, so he's no longer a malt minion.
Time to reflect on his history as a maltoholic.

JOLT  Transcript - Springbank
E-pistle #04/12 -  by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland
This JOLT was a three day event. And what a wonderful event it was.
Read all about it in the transcript. 
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Malt Maniacs #5  - February 1, 2003
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An interview with Keir Sword
E-pistle #05/01 - by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland
Keir Sword runs one of the most famous whisky stores in the world, Royal Mile Whiskies in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Whisk(e)yfest 2002 Treasures 
E-pistle #05/02 - by Louis Perlman, USA
American maniac Louis visited the New York Whisk(e)yfest.
He managed to sneakily sneak a bunch of spare samples into his goody bag for closer inspection.

A 'Live' Tasting of 8 Blinds
E-pistle #05/03 - by Serge Valentin, France
Serge kicks off the 'Pandora proceedings' with a report on the 8 blind samples I muled over to France a while ago.

Opening Pandora's Box  
E-pistle #05/04 - by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland
After reading Serge's report I couldn't postpone my own confrontation with the blind samples he sent me any longer.

Compass Box Whisky 
E-pistle #05/05 - by Louis Perlman, USA
The fact that John Glaser uses grain whisky in his 'blends' has kept him off these pages so far.
Louis argued that this is no worse than 'vatting' a malt. Good point.

2002 Dram Diary 
E-pistle #05/06 - by Craig Daniels, Australia
In the chaos surrounding the launch of Malt Maniacs, the steady flow of reports from the Earls of Zetland came to a standstill.
Fortunately, this E-pistle covers an entire year.

2002 Review 
E-pistle #05/07 - by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland
Inspired by Craig's idea to have a last look at the year that was, I've written a few words on my own highlights of 2002.
(Check out the Liquid Log for a dram-by-dram report.)

2002 - The Year in Malts 
E-pistle #05/08 - by Davin de Kergommeaux, Canada
Davin's flashback to the year that was focuses on two events; the DrAmsterdam maltathon and the Boston Foafathon.

Best Malts of 2002  
E-pistle #05/09 - by Craig Daniels , Australia
It's easy to get lost in Craig's 2002 Dram Diary. For your convenience, he extracted the Top 10 single malts of 2002.

A Little Fun With Blends 
E-pistle #05/10 - by Louis Perlman, USA
Louis continues to stretch the limits of our scope - this time with an E-pistle about the stuff we love to hate: blends.

French Still Life
E-pistle #05/11 - by Serge Valentin, France
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to distill your own whisky?
Well, Serge has. What's more, he has actually tried it!  Read all about the secrets of distillation.

JOLT #5 - Pandora Project Phase II
E-pistle #05/12 - by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland 
This time around the transcript deals with a double-blind sampling by Serge Valentin and Craig Daniels.
 

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Malt Maniacs #6  - April 1, 2003
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Pandora III Transcript 
E-pistle #06/01 - by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland
The 'Pandora Project' is in full swing. Klaus, Michael and Mark all received a package with six 'blind' samples.
Their task: spot the Lowlander hidden between five Speysiders. Let me assure you that's not as easy as it sounds...

Laphroaig & MaltMadness - An Epiphany
E-pistle #06/02 - by Mark Adams, USA
A clear recollection of a blurry introduction to single malt.

An Evening with John Hansel
E-pistle #06/03 - by Louis Perlman, USA
On January 27th 2003 John Hansel hosted a tasting session in New York.
American correspondent Louis Perlman reports on a tasting session with many obscure single malts.

Hot & Heavy In The Cold of Winter  
E-pistle #06/04 - by Serge Valentin , France
Serge Valentin and Olivier Humbrecht decided to explore the topic of 'independent bottlers'.
Their investigations started in February with a dozen single malts bottled by Cadenhead, Douglas Laing and James McArthur. 

Sherry Monster Report 
E-pistle #06/05 - by Michael Wade, USA
Michael reports on a February tasting session with a bunch of sherry monsters - including the infamous 'orange goblin'.

The Signatory Signature 
E-pistle #06/06 - by Serge Valentin, France
The second part of Serge's research of independent bottlings focussed on 20 single malts bottled by Signatory Vintage.

Three Little Ones from Islay 
E-pistle #06/07 - by Klaus Everding, Germany
Klaus comments on three Islay samples.

Scotch On The Rock 
E-pistle #06/08 - by Davin de Kergommeaux, Canada
After last year's African safari Davin travelled to a place much more hospitable to Islay lovers: Newfoundland.
Davin paints a pretty picture of the 'couleur locale' while examining the Rutherford's range of bastard malts. 

Murray McDavid, My Mission
E-pistle #06/09 - by Serge Valentin, France
Serge had to fly solo during the third flight of independents.
This time the object of his affection was Murray McDavid.

Independents Day 
E-pistle #06/10 - by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland
Serge inspired me to write a few independent words and drink a few independent drams as well.
Just a few, mind you! Includes an overview of the main independent bottlers.

Why don't you CLICK HERE for the full details?

At the moment these issues of Malt Maniacs have been published;

• Malt Maniacs #00  -  1998 - 2001
• Malt Maniacs #01  -  January 1, 2002
• Malt Maniacs #02  -  April 1, 2002
• Malt Maniacs #03  -  July 1, 2002
• Malt Maniacs #04  -  October 1, 2002
• Malt Maniacs #05  -  February 1, 2003
• Malt Maniacs #06  -  April 1, 2003

If you're looking for an overview of all the contributions by one particular maniac (your 'local' maniac, for instance) you can check out the personal profiles in the ' Credentials' section.
The Matrix might give you an idea about which maniacs have a taste similar to your own.

Scroll town for an overview of everything we've written so far.