Whisky is a subject that people can get obsessed with. It can make fully grown men in suits and ties and sensible haircuts wax lyrical. It can make whisky critics write the most outlandish tasting notes too (likening some flavours to old leather car seats or tar for instance!). It can make collectors out of the unsuspecting and send the staunchly constituted off on unhurried pilgrimages across the Highlands and Islands. Whisky has its enthusiasts, its devotees and its aficionados as well as its connoisseurs. Laphroaig, along with many another leading brand, has its 'advocates' and The Macallan even has a salaried ambassador based in New York (now there's a job to die for).

But you don't have to be a would-be buff to want to know more about the complexities of taste, the intricacies of distilling or the art of blending. You just have to like a 'wee dram' and to have had your imagination fired by this most elemental of spirits that is so inseparable from its place of origin. Whisky tastings are nothing new – although to the uninitiated they may look arcane with their special mats, their proliferation of schooners-in-waiting and, sometimes, the little bowls of peat, wood, barley and dark chocolate. Ever since William Grant and Sons introduced the pleasures of single malt Scotch Whisky to the world at large in the early 1960s by way of Glenfiddich the allure and fascination of malt whisky has grown and grown. As well as Scotland's hundred or so distilleries jumping with joy onto this visionary bandwagon, appreciation societies like the Scotch Malt Whisky Society have helped enormously in spreading the word about malt in general and delving deeper into the wonders of cask whisky. The SMWS was started by a group of friends in Edinburgh in the mid 1970s and now has branches in London, Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland and the USA where events and tastings are held throughout the year.

In addition to tastings the SMWS runs a day long Whisky School in Edinburgh which focuses on sensing and evaluating the tastes and flavours of a number of malt whiskies. The course is led by Dr. Jim Swan, the leading expert on whisky flavour and composition. He is joined in the afternoon by Charles MacLean who chairs the Society's tasting panel and also writes prolifically about the subject. The School is open to members and non-members alike.

A newer arrival on the scene is the Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre which nestles under the looming presence of Edinburgh Castle. This is an excellent tourist attraction in its own right and affords a good general introduction to Scotch Whisky. It also offers a full day's Scotch Whisky Training School aimed at both the hospitality industry and the whisky enthusiast and covers Malt and Grain Whisky Production, the Art of Blending and History as well as sensory perception and comparative tasting.

But for the true devotee what could be better than a few days 'in situ'? Bladnoch Distillery in Dumfries and Galloway offers a three day Whisky School where participants get hands on experience of working in the mash room and the still house. The School is moving to a purpose-built, permanent home at Ladybank, Fife in October 2003. For those readers still wondering what the attraction might be, The Whisky School's tastings leader John Glaser sums it all up perfectly:

"I love whisky because of the aromas . . . the flavours. Because it's a natural product. Because whisky making is a time-honoured craft . . . because the stuff is always changing, and no one can ever know everything there is to know about whisky . . . I love it because drinking whisky with friends is one of life's great pleasures . . . Have you ever been in a whisky warehouse? ... (they) . . . have this heady, great aroma . . . you smell the wood from the casks and all sorts of fruity compounds evaporating off the whisky into the air; it all sort of rolls into you like a cloud as you enter the warehouse . . . it's more a "bouquet" than simply an aroma, because it's so complex, comprised of so many different, complementary aromas."

And finally, for the out-and-out paramour, Bruichladdich on the legendary island of Islay is opening the first Whisky Academy in a working distillery in June and offering week long courses at around £1,000. Bruichladdich, like another famous Islay distillery – Ardbeg – has been reclaimed from its mothballed status and under the tutelage of distilling guru Jim McEwan (ex manager of Bowmore) has had a meteoric rise to 2002's Single Malt of the Year and Distillery of the Year. Apparently, it's already over-subscribed.

But down from the heights, back to the foothills inhabited by the mere enthusiast or even the merely interested many distilleries are open to the public and some like Glenturret, Glenmorangie, Bowmore and Highland Park have excellent visitor centres. And for those with an equal interest in blended whisky, new on the scene is the Famous Grouse Experience. And if it's more of a whisky vacation you're looking for than a whisky school there are a couple of hugely sociable whisky festivals to put into your diary: the Spirit of Speyside Festival (2–5 May) and the Islay Whisky Festival (17 May –1 June).