The Maltmaniacs in Turckheim (12/4/03 - 12/6/03)

At Serge's place, first tasting
(foreground Michael, background Serge)

Yeah, I know, OMC Broras usually make people think a lot... This was during the Brorathon.

At Serge's place, first tasting
(left Olivier, right Davin)

Davin's wearing Malts-L's official polo shirt. It claims 'No Salt in Whisky', but we got lots of 'salty feelings' while tasting the Broras.

At Serge's place, first tasting
(again Michael from Hamburg)

"... But is there pepper in whisky???"

At Serge's Place, first tasting
(Davin and Serge)

"Davin, have some of this Brora Platinum, and you'll see what you'll see..."

Serge's place, 12/5/03
(Marlou and Davin in the door)

Blast, now I know who stole my Christmas decorations ;-)

my girlfriend Marlou standing next to Serge's big Mercedes battlecruiser in Colmar

Yeah, that's what you need to drive a bunch of thirsty maniacs from a tasting session to another one...

Mark and Krishna have arrived at Colmar
(left to right: Marlou, Mark, Krishna's back, Olivier and Davin who hides Serge)

And Olivier's carrier...

whisky tasting at a shop in Colmar
(very nice malts bottled by "the bottlers")

Yeah, those people at 'Le Bacchus', rue Turenne in Colmar are very friendly!

d-day (21/6/03) at Serge's home
(some french friends + Serge and Mark)
the chimey in the background belongs to the still

Whom could the chimney belong, other than to the still, Klaussy boy?

photoshooting in front of Serge's house
(Mark + Krishna)

Yeah, I still don't understand why Krishna was taking a photograph of my garbage house...

breakfast on d-day, oysters and white wine, still is working in the background

Oysters and Riesling is great all day long. Just like Oysters and Islay malt.

christmas decorations on d-day,
Marlou, Mark, Serge and Krishna in the garden

Thank God I was there to watch my Christmas decorations, that time!

Mark - the Californian opera singer preparing to leave Alsace

Krishna - our Indian banker preparing to leave Alsace

Michael and Marlou from Hamburg preparing to leave Alsace

A small parade of rare malts waiting to be tasted by the maniacs.
(Just some training for the coming Brorathon)

Klaus, -just arrived at the Alsace and drunk allready?
No! Just the effect of more than 10 hours in the car.

Davin on his way to become a malt-angel. The white things coming out of his shoulders seem to first signs of wings

Brora parade!
The picture seems to be a little blurred but that is not our faults. Broras have a tendency to warp out of this universe.

Davin guarding some of the Broras.He seems to be very satisfied with that job.

Klaus deep in meditation. Is this another candidate for a score above 90 points?

Olivier carefully examining a Brora. Can the label explain why these malts are so delicious?

Serge, contemplating about the new batch of DL Brora platinum.

Serge to Olivier and Davin: "Gentlemen, I have come to a conclusion, This is is good wee dram"

Brorathon is over. Re-thinking about the scores. Have I been too generous?
(I should really stop this silly smoking)

Important components of the Islay-Frühstück, a Laddie, a Port Ellen and the new Ardbeg Uigeadail.

Marlou joins us with nosing.
Is this Glen Kella, - the white whisky, or simply milk?

The maniacs in Colmar.
(Serge, Mark, Olivier, Klaus, Davin, Krishna)

Searching for a restaurant in Colmar. Krishna and Mark who have just arrived need some food.

Olivier and Davin in the restaurant.

Serge, Krishna and Mark waiting for some delicious Alsacian food.

Same as the preceding picture.
Don't you think that Krishna and Mark really look hungry while Serge benefits from the Islay Frühstück, which he had a few hours before.

Again in the restaurant.
(Klaus and Olivier)

Liquor shop in Colmar.
We are invited to try malts from "The Bottlers". None of the malts here scored below 80 points.

The friendly shop owners, who invited us to a spontaneous tasting session.

Again in the shop in Colmar.
The wine glasses we used were quite good for nosing.

Last picture from the whisky shop. Unfortunately Krishna, Mark and Olivier were allready back in Turckheim and did not join us.

Davin and Olivier in the cellar of domaine Zind - Humbrecht where Olivier makes excellent wine.

These are the old casks where Olivier's famous wines are stored.
The casks are far to big for whisky.

Wine tasting in Olivier's place.
Krishna (to the right at the spitting stone) trains his abilities as "Mr. Lighningspeed.

We need some food to be prepared for the coming tasting session.

Hmh! Delicious Alsacian food.

With this dinner we will be able to sample a lot of malts

Only a small section of Olivier's malt treasures.

Serge's bureau. I think every whisky fan would like to work at such place.

Krishna, Klaus and some very friendly French stillmen in Serge's garden.
We start the morning with white wine.

Yep, the still is working.

This is the still. Compared to the big whisky stills in Scotland it does not look so impressive. But what really counts, is what you get out of it. TheWMD (wonderbarer Marc, Du!) / Marc de Gewurztraminer which was distilled this year will certainly be excellent

December 6 in Serge's garden. White wine and oysters,, - the still is running

And again d-day morning.

A job for the malt maniacs.
8 Islay malts from Serge's AWESOME sample collection to be tested.

First distillation run finished. You can see the steaming grape skins in the still.

Dinner in Serge's house on d-day. Again the famous Alsacian food and don't forget the formidable wines which were served.

Steaming still. The water bath has grown really hot. We need cool it down.

Late on d-day. Davin, Krishna and Mark together with still master Jean-Michel are still standing.

Time to say goodbye. One last dram of Macallan 25yo Silver Seal.

Banker Krishna ready to leave the Alsace

And the Californian opera singer Mark has also packed his back.

Klaus, finally I have got my malt maniacs t-shirt. I am so proud.

D-day: 10:00, time to have a dram in front of the still. From left to right: Jean-Yves, still master Jean-Michel, maniac Olivier, Michael, yours truly, maniac Mark, Philippe, maniac Krishna, maniac Klaus, Thomas. Davin was still in bed, recovering from the tasting at Olivier's place. Too much Local Barley, Davin?

Olivier and Philippe will soon pour the fermented fruit into the still. The copper hat is aside for the moment, and Davin's curious about what's happening in the still.

Time to feed the beast! BtW, 'niveau d'eau' means water leve. As it's a water bath still, overfilling with water isn't such a good idea if you don't want to get some hot steam into your face...

The work goes on. Davin's tasting some white Alsacian wine, while Klaus, Krishna, Mark and Michael are busy with 8 Islayers I made them taste inside the house .

Davin: geez, these Alsacian whites are even greater than our Canadian icewines. 'Of course'!

Thomas and Davin will soon pour the distiled fruit into... yeah, right, the river. No fish ever complained!

Late in the evening, time to bottle our spirit! Yes, looks like a Christmas crib...

Okay, better with a flashlight! Maniac Olivier and good old friends Thomas, Jean-Yves, Paul, Jean-Michel and Christophe hare happy: the work is finished! Time for a few more drams...

A little relaxing while tasting a few more malts...