Ah, the year 2007... We remember that year with mixed emotions, but for the most part it's fondly.
And that's because we managed to publish 79 articles about whisky in 2007. And there's a lot
more; shortly before we published the results of the Malt Maniacs Awards 2007 on December 1
we kicked off our public Malt Maniacs & Friends Group on Facebook. Before 2007 was over we
already had more than 300 'friends' that joined. (Little did we realise at the time that we would
eventually have thousands of friends on Facebook.) We've refreshed quite a few other pages as
well, including our history and the overview of the 'certified' members of the Malt Maniacs.

MM#100 - E-pistle #2007/05: A Dozen Delightful '2006' Drams (by Serge Valentin, France)
From now on, several malt maniacs will be publishing collections of tasting notes around a certain 'theme'. Serge kicks things off with a selection
of a dozen drams that were bottled in 2006 - and that all scored well into the 90's. Of course, these whiskies were not selected for their affordability.

MM#101 - E-pistle #2007/10: An Introduction to Japanese Whisky (by Robert Karlsson, Sweden)
During the first decade of our maniacal existence, Japanese single malts were hard to find in Europe and the US, but after a Japanese whisky
(the Yamazaki 1984/2005 (56%, OB, Suntory, Japan, 70cl) emerged victoriously from the MM Awards 2006 Robert decided to investigate further.

MM#101 - E-pistle 2007/19 - Ask an Anorak: Cask Fondling (by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland)
Sometimes, a single cask whisky isn't bottled all at once - or by the same bottler. After I published a little E-pistle about some questions around
this phenomenon, I've received quite a few replies from visitors and other malt maniacs. We managed to track down a few interesting examples.

MM#102 - E-pistle 2007/020 - Serge's Simple Tasting Tips (by Serge Valentin, France)
There are several sorts of tasting sessions, depending on your goals: selecting whisky to vat or blend it, selecting whisky before you buy some, either
as an individual or as a retailer, judging a whisky for a competition, or simply getting to know a new expression the best you can. Serge knows more...

MM#102 - E-pistle 2007/024 - Lomond Stills & The Oil Enigma (by Lex Kraaijeveld, England)
Several whisky books state that Lomond stills produce a much oilier whisky than traditional stills. If you consider what the underlying idea was for
designing Lomond stills, it is a bit strange: Lomond stills were designed to allow the distillation of a wider variety of whiskies in the same still, not to
produce an oilier spirit. Lex Kraaijeveld investigates this phenomenon in his usual thorough and scientific fashion.

MM#103 - E-pistle 2007/030 - Whisky Glasses; a Study (by Lawrence Graham, Canada)
There are many whisky glasses on the market currently, some of which you have to buy and some of which are given as presents by distilleries or
even included in the price of a bottle of single malt whisky. But which whisky glass is 'the best' for you? Lawrence investigates the question.

MM#104 - E-pistle 2007/044 - The Fossil Record in Antarctica (by Lex Kraaijeveld, England)
A recent discovery by polar historian David Harrowfield adds a fascinating little twist to whisky history. A 'whisky magazine' titled Dawson's Annual
1910 Review of Reviews was discovered on Antarctica. So how did this piece of whisky advertising end up on the South Pole?

MM#104 - E-pistle 2007/049 - Ask an Anorak: Bottle Oxidation (by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland)
So, does whisky mature after it is bottled? The whisky industry says 'no', but our experience is different. Oxidation inside the bottle has been
discussed here and there, but I don't think we ever had a proper group discussion. So, let's take this opportunity to get to the bottom of things...

MM#105 - E-pistle 2007/050 - Paxarete, the unloved saviour of sherry casks? (by Michel van Meersbergen, Holland)
Everybody who has tasted antique sherried whisky has noticed the huge differences between the sherry profiles of the days that are passed
compared to today's sherry profile. Where are those differences coming from? Why is the present day sherry profile so different?
Is there a chance we could return to that much loved sherry profile from 30 or 40 years ago?

MM#105 - E-pistle 2007/051 - Whyte & Mallya (by Krishna Nukala, India)
In 2007 (exactly 150 years after 'The First War of Indian Independence' started in May 1857), Vijay Mallya and his "East India Company" took
total control of 163 year old British (well, Scottish) firm Whyte & Mackay. Our Indian malt maniac Krishna reports from India.

MM#106 - E-pistle 2007/060 - What we see in Whisky (by Hasse Nilsson & Robert Karlsson, Sweden)
The first of two 'duo' E-pistles of this issue deals with the things we can tell about a whisky just by looking at it - the colour and the texture
(or viscosity) of the liquid in your glass. We want pearls, not caramel, apparently.

MM#106 - E-pistle 2007/067 - The Influence of Wood on Whisky (by Paul DeJong, Belgium)
Some experts say the influence of wood on (and the interaction of wood with) whisky makes up for more than 70% of the aroma's in the final product!
So, if wood is so important, the question arises: What is wood made of?

MM#107 - E-pistle 2007/070 - Analogies between Wine & Whisky (by Pit Krause, Germany)
Or: Growing Analogies between the Wine and Whisky Cosmos - Worlds Collide? Despite the fact that there are parallels, one should not forget that
wine and whisky are two completely different drinks. Nevertheless, the whisky industry now employs marketing lessons learned in the wine world.

MM#107 - E-pistle 2007/071 - Whisky & White Gloves (by Dave Broom, England)
The white gloves tipped Dave Broom over the edge. The asking price (£2,000 a bottle) is ludicrous of course, but it's the addition of the white
gloves which makes the release of Ardbeg 1965 the most absurdly pretentious idea yet from the half-baked minds of luxury whisky marketeers.

And those were just some of the 'highlights' of the articles that were published in 2007. Here is a complete overview:

Malt Maniacs Issue #100 - January 15, 2007

E-pistle #2007/01 - Concerns of a German Whisky Lover (submitted in December 2006 by Pit Krause, Germany)
E-pistle #2007/02 - An Indian's perspective on Scotch Whisky (submitted in December 2006 by Krishna Nukala, India)
E-pistle #2007/03 - A Whisky Lover in a 'Dry' Town (submitted on January 7, 2007 by Mark Gillespie, USA)
E-pistle #2007/04 - The 'Cask Fondling' Phenomenon (submitted on January 9, 2007 by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland)
E-pistle #2007/05 - A Dozen Delightful '2006' Drams (submitted on January 12 by Serge Valentin, France)
E-pistle #2007/06 - The Italian Whisky Mafia (submitted on January 13, 2007 by Joep van Drunen, Holland)
E-pistle #2007/07 - Whisky Live South Africa 2006 Report (Cape Town) (submitted by Joe Barry, South-Africa)
E-pistle #2007/08 - Whisky Live South Africa 2006 Report (Johannesburg) (submitted by Larry Aaronson, South-Africa)
E-pistle #2007/09 - My '2006' Scotland Trip (submitted on January 14 by Luca Chichizola, Italy)

Malt Maniacs Issue #101 - February 1, 2007

E-pistle #2007/10 - An Introduction to Japanese Whisky (submitted by Robert Karlsson, Sweden)
E-pistle #2007/11 - Big (Malts) in Japan (submitted by Luca Chichizola, Italy)
E-pistle #2007/12 - A Different View on Finishing (submitted by Lex Kraaijeveld, UK)
E-pistle #2007/13 - Old Ledaigs; Some Favourite Dark Horses (submitted by Pit Krause, Germany)
E-pistle #2007/14 - Whisky Development during 2 World Wars (submitted by Konstantin Grigoriadis, Greece)
E-pistle #2007/15 - Half A Dozen Disposable Drams (submitted by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland)
E-pistle #2007/16 - Typical Indian Tastes in Scotch Whisky (submitted by by Krishna Nukala, India)
E-pistle #2007/17 - The Night They Lost Their Virginity (submitted by Lex Kraaijeveld, UK)
E-pistle #2007/18 - A Dozen & One Diabolical Drams (submitted by Michel van Meersbergen, Holland)
E-pistle #2007/19 - Ask an Anorak: Cask Fondling (submitted by Johannes van den Heuvel, Holland)

Malt Maniacs Issue #102 - March 1, 2007

E-pistle #2007/20 - Serge's Simple Tasting Tips (submitted by Serge Valentin, France)
E-pistle #2007/21 - Bourbon Country's Dynamite Dozen (submitted by Davin de Kergommeaux, Canada)
E-pistle #2007/22 - Whisky in Wisconsin in 2007 (submitted by Doug Fulkerstone, USA)
E-pistle #2007/23 - Whiskyfest New York 2006 (submitted by Louis Perlman, USA)
E-pistle #2007/24 - Lomond Stills & The Oil Enigma (submitted by Lex Kraaijeveld, UK)
E-pistle #2007/25 - Half A Dozen Dissonant Drams (submitted by Michel van Meersbergen, Holland)
E-pistle #2007/26 - Collecting in Belgium (submitted by Dominiek Bouckaert, Belgium)
E-pistle #2007/27 - Half A Dozen Annually Released Port Ellens (submitted by Robert Karlsson, Sweden)
E-pistle #2007/28 - Malts in Monk's Cafe (submitted by Mark Gillespie, USA)
E-pistle #2007/29 - Do The Scots Deserve Their Reputation? (submitted by Joe Barry, South Africa)

Malt Maniacs Issue #103 - May 1, 2007

Malt Maniacs Issue #104 - June 1, 2007

Malt Maniacs Issue #105 - August 1, 2007

E-pistle #2007/050 - Paxarete, the unloved saviour of sherry casks? (by Michel van Meersbergen, Holland)
E-pistle #2007/051 - Whyte & Mallya (by Krishna Nukala, India)
E-pistle #2007/052 - Olivier's Travels; Les Trois Rois, Basel (by Olivier Humbrecht, France)
E-pistle #2007/053 - Book Review: Wort, Worms & Washbacks (by Davin de Kergommeaux, Canada)
E-pistle #2007/054 - Victoria Whisky Festival Report (by Wendy Harker, Canada)
E-pistle #2007/055 - A Dozen Diverse Drams (by Johannes v/d Heuvel, Holland)
E-pistle #2007/056 - The Why & How of Rating Whisky (by Davin de Kergommeaux, Canada)
E-pistle #2007/057 - A Whisky Weekend To Remember (by Magnus Fagerström, Sweden)
E-pistle #2007/058 - Classifications of Whisky (by Ulf Buxrud, Sweden)
E-pistle #2007/059 - A Dozen Canadian Drams (by Lawrence Graham, Canada)

Malt Maniacs Issue #106 - October 1, 2007

Malt Maniacs Issue #107 - December 1, 2007

We welcome articles from both certified 'Malt Maniacs' and 'foreign correspondents'.
At the end of each year the most active foreign correspondents are invited to join the team of certified Malt Maniacs.
You can find our 'mission statement' and more information about our principles in the Malt Maniacs Manifesto in the library.
Join the mailinglist (see the address below) for updates on the reconstruction process of Malt Maniacs. Just drop me a message with the subject 'Add me to the list' and let me know your name and what part of the world you're from.

Sweet drams,

Johannes van den Heuvel
Editor Malt Madness / Malt Maniacs

And that's it, at least as far as the 'editorial comments' for the year 2007 are concerned.
Below we'll start with some of our most popular articles from the period, while you can find
all 79 E-pistles that we have published in 2007 if you scroll further down the page. Enjoy!

While the archive offers an overview of the (well over 1000) articles that we have written
between 1997 and 2011, there are a whole bunch of other aspects our 'malt mania' as well.
For example, we have a page dedicated to the history of the maniacs, our manifesto deals with
our guiding principles, we have published a number of whisky book reviews, the Lex-icon offers
an overview of world wide malt whisky distilleries, etc. And please keep in mind that there is an
all new Malt Maniacs website that keeps you informed about the malty adventures after 2011.
Curious what the future will bring? Join the 'Mixed Messages' mailinglist for regular updates.
Meanwhile, if scores are your thing, make sure to check out the matrix and the monitor.
There you'll find scores for thousend of different whiskies - single malt and other types.

Overview of E-pistes that were published in 2007