A few years ago, Kirk was looking for a new hobby, and decided to join a scotch tasting club, having developed a casual interest in single malt scotch whisky. There was one problem—he couldn't find a scotch club to join.

Asking himself, "How hard could it be to start my own?" he decided to form a group of like-minded folk to join him in exploring the many wonders of scotch whisky.

Nine months, and lots of research (translation: tasting a lot of scotch) later, the Single Malt Society scotch club was launched, with seventeen brave members.

The club started to catch on, as some of those original charter members recruited a friend or two to join them, and one thing led to another. As they enter their sixth year, the club has grown to almost 150 members, making it one of the largest in the country.

Kirk's mission remains unchanged from that first session—to create a fun and informal setting in which people can learn about scotch, without any of the snootiness often associated with a wine or spirits tasting group. Members of any experience level are welcome, whether newbies or long-time malt maniacs, and everyone learns a little something along the way.

Kirk certainly did, as his casual interest evolved into a passion, and—admittedly—a bit of an obsession. Since starting the Society, he has created dozens of multimedia presentations, conducted over 100 tasting sessions, and sampled over 250 kinds of scotch. Now he's happy to share his knowledge, and introduce others to the fascinating world of scotch.