So, what's in store for the future?

I usually enjoy a few drams of single malt whisky during my
work on the Malt Madness website (or other projects). Granted,
that doesn't always improve my accuracy and productivity, but
it helps me get through the sometimes boring 'technical' parts
of the process. However, with all the fun I've been having, I'm
afraid that there's now a quite hefty 'to do list' to get through.

March 23, 2013 - I finally finished a much-needed reconstruction of the 'Deviant Drams' section.
This site section contains information about other types of Scotch whisky - blended whiskies (like
Johnnie Walker, Bell's, Dewar's & Cutty Sark), grain whiskies (like Blackbarrel, Cameron Brig, Greenore
and Invergordon), so-called 'bastard' malts (like Finlaggan & Stronachie) and vatted malt whiskies
(a.k.a. blended malt whiskies) like Blairmhor, Monkey Shoulders & Sheep Dip. Click on one of
these links for some information about each category and tasting notes for a few expressions.

March 21, 2013 - I've taken a long break from work on the site, but I've now expanded a number of profiles in the Distillery Data section with extra information and additional tasting notes. I'm also happy to report that I've finally made some progress with the Deviant Drams section. Expect some news soon... 

March  10, 2012 - The last distillery profiles have just been updated with fresh and additional information.
If I could find the details I've updated the production capacity data and I added the GPS locations of the various distilleries. I've also added profiles on a few new and obscure distilleries, like Kilchoman and Kininvie.

February  1, 2012 - I've finished the upgrades of roughly a third of all distillery profiles.
I'm working my way through the profiles alphabetically; all 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D' and 'E' profiles are now done.

December 30, 2011 - I've started a refurbishment of the Distillery Data section.
So far, six 'general' pages in that section have been enhanced and improved. Next stop: the 'geography' pages and the distillery profiles. However, I'm going to call it a day for now to start enjoying some exquisite drams.
And I think I'll do that tomorrow too...  So - I guess you could say that I'm calling it a year! ;-)
 
A) Active Scotch whisky distilleries - specifically focuses on the 98 active malt whisky distilleries.
B) Silent Schotch whisky distilleries - an overview of all the distilleries that have been closed since 1975.
C) New whisky distillery projects - news and backgrounds on fresh Scotch whisky distillery projects.
D) Scotch whisky brands -  an overview of almost all the 'brands' you can find on a malt whisky label.
E) Scotch whisky bottlers - a list of the main bottlers of single malt, both independent and dependent.
F) Grain whisky - some background information about column stills and the grain whisky distilleries.

December 27, 2011 - The mAlmanac has been revised and restructured. Over the years the navigation structure had evolved into a nightmare that was held together with the internet equivalent of sticky tape and chewing gum. Now I've streamlined some of the old pages, so surfing around should become a lot easier;
 
01) The Hot List - the most interesting bottles of malt whisky that were released (relatively) recently.
02) The Hit List - my all-time favourite single malts which I'm not afraid to recommend to anybody.
03) The Shit List - some of my least favourite malt whiskies which I would NOT recommend to anyone.
04) The Bang-For-Your-Buck List - a selection of malts that offer the best value for money I think.
05) The Reading List - a overview of the 10 most recommendable whisky books that I've read so far.
06) The Whisky Industry List - a schematic overview of all Scotch malt whisky distilleries & owners.
07) The Stock List - used to show the contents of my liquor cabinet, but has a broader scope now.
08) Little Black Book - my tasting notes (A-Z) on the first 500 single malts that I've seriously sampled.
09) Track Record (A-I) - my scores on +/- 1000 malts I tried before 2007 - from Aberfeldy to Imperial.
10) Track Record (H-T) - scores on +/- 1000 malts I tried before 2007 - Highland Park to Tullibardine.

December 17, 2011 - The bad news is that the Advanced Beginner's Guide is not finished yet.
The good news is that all 10 chapters of the regular Beginner's Guide have been updated & expanded.

June 12, 2011 - There are still some rough edges to polish, but the mAlmanac is largely refreshed with a new version of the whisky industry overview and a revived version of my whisky collection.

March 21, 2011 - I've published a blog post about my last dram for a while: the Black Bull 40yo. I've decided to "freeze" my blog until I've managed to bring my weight to a healthier level (i.e. below 100 kilo's).

February 21, 2011 - Hurray; two months of winter have already passed and the days are already growing longer. Nevertheless, the nights are still long (daylight is gone by 18:00), which gave me plenty of time to work on a new page. I hope that the new schematic industry overview (with links to all Scotch whisky distilleries) will help to make this surprisingly complex industry just a little more transparent.

January 19, 2011 - As I wrote on my Liquid Blog, I've begun cleaning out a few hundred empty whisky bottles from my malt whisky shelves. Until now, I hung on to them due to a unique combination of foresight and laziness. I anticipated the credit crisis and felt that I needed to keep the raw materials for the production of Molotov cocktails handy - just in case of a global revolution. However, it seems that the powers that be try to preserve the status quo for a few more years. If only for practical purposes, it seems I should get rid of the bottles.

January 1, 2011 - Happy 2011, everybody!
I've updated the Liquid Links page - quite a lot... A thorough check of the page showed that a third of the links were out of date, or pointed to sites that not had been updated in three or four years. So, I've started a major clean-up. Please let me know if you know any whisky links I've missed.
 
Other HIGHLIGHTS from HISTORY:

2011 - My blogging is gradually replaced by Twittering on whisky.
2010 - I decided to give a new Liquid Blog on BlogSpot a try...
2009 - The Malt Maniacs & Friends group on Facebook is launched.
2008 - My brother and I have built a Distillery Map with JavaScript.
2007 - A refurbished site emerges, sponsored by Canvas Dreams.
2006 - Massive Crash! Launch Madness / Maniacs / Whiskyfun trinity.
2005 - Charles MacLean, Dave Broom & Martine Nouet came aboard.
2004 - The Deviant Drams section about other drinks was launched.
2003 - We organised the first edition of the Malt Maniacs Awards.
2002 - The Matrix (HTML) was expanded with the Monitor (Excel).
2001 - Distillery profiles emerged & Serge Valentin joined our team.
2000 - The forum was removed again and Krishna joined the maniacs.
1999 - The mAlmanac was added and Davin joined the malt maniacs.
1998 - To promote interactivity a forum was added to the website.
1997 - Malt Maniacs was born and I wrote my first liquid log entry.
1996 - The Beginner's Guide and Little Black Book were added.
1995 - The very first pages of Malt Madness were published on-line.
 
 

Malt Madness 'Progress Report':

• add the locations of some fresh projects to the distillery map,
• reconstruct and expand the mAlmanac with the latest details,
• Update all distillery profiles with the fresh data from 2013,
• reconstruct and wrap up the Liquid Log with tasting notes,
• finish the Deviant Drams section with info on other spirits,
• expand the Whisky Industry Details page with more data,
• update the overview of whisky books with fresh entries,
• expand the number of links in the Liquid Links section, and
• finish the Advanced Beginner's Guide to single malt whisky.

And those were just the thoughts from the top of my big head.
If you follow me on Twitter you can stay informed about the
future developments around Malt Madness. But perhaps you are
one of those people that prefer to look back instead of ahead.
In that case, you can find an overview of recent changes in the
 

Here's a list of the tasks I hope to finish in the coming months;