Since we first launched in late 1996, we have kept careful track of the preferences of our associates, and this is now helping us to provide a range of new services that will bring whisky enthusiasts together using the Internet. Our focus will be to involve our readers in tastings, and share the expertise of the more experienced with those with a desire to learn more.  We aim to be innovative in our approach, always doing things first (the others follow), and to use this place to entertain and educate without being pompous or too romantic about good whisky. March 1997 - Online Tasting I Our first Online Tasting involved participation of over 14,000 people who logged on to scotchwhisky.com to compare and discuss some of the more popular and more easily found malt whiskies. With the generous support of whisky companies and Charlie Maclean, we created an customisable java 'star' to visually represent whisky flavours and characteritics.  (This is currently under-repair - we'll tell you when is back and running). January 1998 - Online Tasting II With the participation of Glengoyne and Highland Park distilleries, we extended our concepts into selecting casks based upon detailed tasting notes prepared by a panel of our readers. These efforts delivered two quite exceptional cask strength bottlings (see the Highland Park tasting notes) and our associates have a final chance to buy the remainder of these products to help them celebrate the end of the century. December 1998 For last Christmas we embarked on a modest delivery of whiskies and learnt a little about what to do, and what not to do, in providing a service into the US market. It is great to see old friends returning - despite our initial quite hazardous service levels - and also nice to build on this early start. December 1999 - January 2000 This year we are delivering unusually rare products - from five casks and from some interesting historic stock of Macallan.  For those who find these very fine whiskies a little expensive we had a reverse auction of cask whiskies; we have two different sample packs with tasting events attached, and a good deal on some tasting glasses. We'll keep this set of offers and some new events going well into the New Year to ensure our readers can - if they so wish - enter the new millenium with a little moral support from a glass of the good stuff, or some related ongoing online entertainment via scotchwhisky.com.  What's next ? As the Internet becomes increasingly mainstream, you can be assured we will want to get into the thick of it, and that the scotchwhisky.com Associates will be kept fully informed and involved helping us in our developments.  As consumers become more empowered by this new technology, we would hope that scotchwhisky.com will deliver more benefits to its Associates. To help you can use the forum area on this site to communicate with others what you would like to see, or communicate any thoughts to us direct