Connosr's "Golden Keyboard" Awards

If Whisky Connosr is willing, I think the winner of this award might receive a complimentary bottle of whisky/ey from Connosr itself!

How about a bottle of Aberlour A'bunadh or Lagavulin 16, since those are both highly rated and easy to come by around the world? What do you say, Connosr? Eh? The winner could decide if he/she would like a bottle of sweet or peat, so to speak. . . .

Having a prize would certainly make this a very rewarding discussion! And it would also boost morale/participation on this site!

Interesting idea.

Wow, three people have given me a thumbs down rating for this post. All I can say to that is "kiss the bung hole," (on my best cask of whisky, of course).

Participation has plummeted over the past six months on Connosr because of unsupportive and snarky behavior like this.

I'm bored. [Yawn]

I just gave an "up."

I don't follow individual reviewers enough to really get into this topic, but I do think it's the kind of fun chatter that I would like get more steam here on Connosr. This is a great site for reviews but only a so-so site, at least lately, for chat. I miss @two-bit_cowboy and @SquidgyAsh.

@rigmorole, if you really want to get this topic going, might I suggest you give us some nominations? Maybe highlight the "quick stream of consciousness" style of @PMessinger? Or the prolific @hunggar? The deep dives from @markjedi1? The precision & detail from @Victor? The off-the-wall references from yourself? The Campbeltown enthusiasm from @MaltActivist?

OK, maybe I follow the reviewers here more closely than I thought.

Also, I suspect that some folks just "downed" the suggestion that the Connosr admin folks pony up a bottle of good stuff and find a way to get it to a sure-to-be-indecisively selected winner.

Top Five Reviewers:

1. Nock
2. Hungar
3. Onibuba
4. Squidgy
5. Victor

No there are a few excellent reviewers on this site, maybe its not necessary to give them a price. I believe a honorable mention should suffice.

My top 5: - Victor - SquidgyAsh - Pierre_W -Hunggar -Nock

By picking these five I excluded a whole lot of first-rate reviewers on this site, even a top ten would probably be unfair. honerable mentions: Whiskynotes, Talexander, Whiskybee, tjb, Maltactivist, PMessinger and Volks

In my opinion there are many highly talented reviewers on connosr and one could spend hours and hours reading their reviews - time that I unfortunately do not have. But there are some whom I value for a particular reason and of whom I read every single review; they are (in alphabetical order):

• @hunggar, for his review of Hakushu 12yo that so hit the nail on the head
• @Maltactivist, for his enthusiasm and love of the 'water of life'
• @markjedi1, for always being concise and to-the-point
• @Pandemonium, for bringing to my attention bottles that otherwise I might never have heard of
• @Victor, for his ongoing introduction into the world of bourbon

I enjoy reading the review on this site. I could list many more than these 5.

Top 5

Victor. Similar likes in whiskey from what I have read, so I can buy with confidence.

SquidgyAsh. In-depth reviews.

Pierre_W. Honest reviews, if he likes it he says so. Might not buy Pappy again, that's ok too.

JasonHambrey. Canadian whiskey guy. Where I'm live in the US I get mostly bottom self Canadian whiskey. I love Kentucky Rye and I'm ready to try good Canadian Rye. Great reviews.

markjedi1. Reviews Scotch I'll never get to taste, but I can read about them.

Thanks for the love, guys. My picks:

@Victor – I mean you can’t NOT include Victor here. Despite being THE bourbon & rye guy here at connosr, he has an appreciation for just about everything. His experience and knowledge are evident in his concise and confident reviews.

@Pierre_W – A lover of everything from standard fare to obscure IBs to Japanese whiskies, Pierre always includes an informative breakdown of the distillery. He tends to score conservatively, which is respectable.

@MaltActivist – He’s a good writer who knows how to balance his obvious enthusiasm with a clear and articulate approach. I respect his opinion, and his reviews are always animated and enjoyable.

@Whiskybee – His reviews include just the right amount of personality without becoming too anecdotal. Just the right amount of “from the heart.” I could have a beer with this guy. Yes, I said a beer.

@vrudy6 – I feel like we have a similar writing style and overall approach. Now I know I’M a genius, so any similarities between us must mean that he is too. ;-)

Of course there’s plenty more. Honourable mentions for: The brave and selfless @Nock, who tastes and compares countless Ardbeg batches so the rest of us don’t have to. There’s @markjedi, who I assume never eats or sleeps since he’s basically the Duracell Bunny of reviewers. There’s talexander, who you can tell is a film guy because of all the sequels he writes (Also, Amrut! Amiright? might be my favourite review title ever). There’s @tjb, @galg, @vanPelt, @rigmorole, the list goes on…

Malt activist is on my list for sure. He's up near the top

I'm hesitant to turn this into a competition. I like a number of the reviewers' work, they have different styles, and they provide different information. Some contributors are newer, and some have been around longer.

I especially don't like the idea of a prize. Even though it's not completely guaranteed that I'll win, you can't ship alcohol to Canada....

No offense, Noz, but I think it is completely guaranteed that you will not win. Nobody has voted for you yet. Maybe if a few people had already sung your praises, then you wouldn't be so down on the Golden Keyboard Awards!

I think it's only fair if we rate whiskies all day long, then we should also, occasionally, deign to rate reviewers. You almost act as if rating reviewers is below us. I find that wonderfully and amusingly ironic on a site hangs its hat on numbered ratings "pegs" so to speak . . . and yet such intellectually pessimistic sentiments are consistent with your personality, Noz, which I like and enjoy on the site, week by week :)

I guess, "Rig", irony and sarcasm are not as prevalent in your neck of the woods as they are up here in the great white north. I'm under no illusions about winning top reviewer awards. I don't have that many, and I'm still learning the skill of writing a review. But I'm not interested in winning either.

But indirectly you've hit on the reason I don't favour an award. A single award, based on no clear criteria, will invariably create resentment and bad feelings. Even if I mention 5 of my favourites, I'm sure my sixth favourite reviewer will notice and feel left out.

Why don't we just give credit when it's due and praise people when they write good work?

And to ALL the contributors who have greatly enhanced my knowledge and appreciation for whisky, thank you...you get the NOZINAN award for good reviewing.

@Nozinan I'll say again: this site is dedicated to rating stuff all day long. You, Nozinan, love rating whisky/ey. So what's the big deal about listing some of our favorite critics?

Why don't we give credit when it's due and praise people for writing good work?

To be honest, guys, I don't think an award is on anyone's mind. Let's face it, international shipping laws and unclear criteria aside, I think connosr might resent being TOLD to present its members with prizes.

Instead my post was more of an opportunity to praise some of the reviewers I like. Certainly some will be left out, and that's too bad. But not being among someone's top five hardly means your reviews are disliked or unappreciated.

But yeah, I think we can leave any prizes out of this.

@hunggar, without doubt, you are the voice of reason. Well put...'nuff said.

Nobody TOLD Connosr to award prizes. Read my comment again. It was merely suggested. As for Connosr, itself . . . well, in all likelihood, it is a front organization run by whisky and whiskey distributors.

Either way, y'all are basically doing the work of corporations with nothing to show for it but empty wallets and less time to spend on yourselves and your families. Whisky/ey distributors (and some powerful distilleries) are manipulating you to do free advertising for them.

@rigmorole you've really stired up a hornets nest this time. I think an annual award (no prize, other than the kudos) is no bad idea for say best reviewer, best single review, best list etc. It would give an incentive for more and better reviews which are the reason I (and i'm sure many others) follow this site. Something for connosr itself to organise though if they want to increase participation...

My buried comments simply said that this site is dedicated to rating whiskies, so why not mention favorite reviewers?

The comment also mentioned how we already do this (often in a negative and judgmental way) by voting "thumbs down" and "burying" comments we don't like.

Ironically, this is what happened to my comment. It was just buried by Connosrs eager to "vote" about it.

I appreciate rigmorole's attempt at getting a discussion going, we seem to grind to a halt here sometimes. I appreciate well written and comprehensive reviews, and I appreciate quick taste notes as well.

I'm not sure I'd be able to pick a favourite without going through a large amount of reviews from the last year.

I appreciate this place as a whole.

Cut the bs already. The now-buried comment did not "simply" make a suggestion-- It also outright attacked another Connosr member (explicitly blaming his "personality") and furthermore criticized that member's review-writing skills while attacking him as "jealous". Nobody here wants to see fellow members treated that way, and that is why the comment was rightfully buried.

@AultmorEgo You cut the bs. Now you've attacked me as he did. Hypocrite.

I couldn't even remember the entire comment. It was "buried" by idiots like you. What are you? Some kind of website policeman with a record of everything at your disposal? I remember the entire thing now. My comment about his personality was a compliment.

Since my comment has been buried, it's easy to take pot shots. That's the purpose of the thumbs down feature: CENSORSHIP!

BTW, I will say that both Nozinan and I were using sarcasm, something that he is proud of as a Canadian from the Great White North. In addition, he is one of the brightest members of Connosr (a physician I believe, if I'm not very much mistaken?).

I can remember back when Nozinan spoke his mind directly and openly before the dullards clipped his wings, so to speak, and conditioned him to conform. I liked his lively, genuine, and high spirited comments better before he began towing the corporate line and censoring himself to a significant degree, along with everyone else that censors themselves whilst writing in a corporate straight jacket on this site and others like it.

At any rate, I'm through with Connosr. I've put in probably a hundred hours faithfully writing reviews over the course of several years that actually helped to sell plenty of whisky. I now regret every minute that I've ever wasted on writing reviews and typing up free advertisements that are all over Google.

I will never log onto this site again. Y'all can have it. My new Johnny Cash avatar is directed at the mega corporations that have taken over whisky production, and which manipulate well meaning whisky drinkers on sites like this to advertise products for the mega multinational corporations for free.

@rigmorole "Why don't we give credit when it's due and praise people for writing good work?" Those are your words! I was able to read them and I was able to catch the sarcasm, the teasing and the simple fun you were having. I am sometime using the same kind of humor and I don't want to stop because having fun is also part of Connosr. I also enjoyed reading your reviews! Be sure that there is a lot of Connosr just like me who appreciates you. Don't denied yourself an activity that had bring you joy and fun and don't denied you of your company. Just think about the word we so often used at the end of our reviews: CHEERS!

@rigmorole Don't denied US of your company. The IPAD and my clumsy fingers striked again! I think I deserve the EVERLAST Keyboard award because I am probably the worst typist here as if I was typing with Boxing gloves! BTW the IPAD won!

@AultmorEgo

I appreciate the thought, but I'm afraid the results of your intervention may be unfortunate.

I'm an adult, and I'm familiar with bullying. I was not harmed by @rigmorole 's post, and I felt my reply was sufficient.

I have learned (not necessarily the easy way) that electronic correspondence lacks the nuance of face to face communication. No one who knew me well (on the site) would for a moment think I was serious about being the favourite. @rigmorole knew that, without question. And note, at the end of the now (for some reason) unearthed post, he said he enjoyed my posts, as I do his.

I hope he'll reconsider. The lure of Connosr is strong.

Hi guys,

We’d just like to address a few points:

- Firstly, this is an open community and there is nothing wrong with making suggestions or sharing ideas about the site. Furthermore, time and resources permitting, if there is sufficient support for an idea we'd be happy to try and facilitate it.

- It’s fine to disagree but please try not to get personal. We do know that the vast majority of you avoid being confrontational. Clearly this is a thread which got a little heated and out of hand. We hope you can reconcile your differences.

- Far from being a corporate backed global commercial enterprise, Connosr is an independent site run by two guys, from the UK, in their spare time and on very limited resources.

- Finally, if there are any shady global whisky conspiracies with suitcases full of cash, who want to bankroll the site, you know where to find us ;)

On behalf of @piero and @jean-luc at Connosr

Piero, you and Jean-Luc have only written a mere handful of reviews. That speaks volumes to me. There is more to Connosr than meets the eye.

Connosr is a damned good website, that's for sure. The best in the whisky business, I would wager. And if you both truly designed it, then kudos. Forgive me for being a skeptic, but I really do doubt that. The sheer cost of developing it would have been a tremendous undertaking, especially when it was first designed and implemented many years ago.

And there are other indications, as well, which I needn't broach and which don't concern me. I will leae that rock unturned forever. Over the past few years, while writing 128 reviews, 633 wall posts, and 829 comments, I have wondered about just which corporations/investors could have freelanced out smart guys like you two to help stimulate whisky consumption internationally, particularly at a sophisticated level (with sophisticated price tags).

Since I've been an active participant on this site, I have personally spent well over 12K on whisky (including trips to pubs, as well as buying bottles and drinking far more whisky than was healthy for my body--yes, it has taken a serious toll on my health). So the high tech magick of Connosr definitely worked on the likes of me! Then again, wealthy connosrs might spend that much on one bottle! So, I am laboring under no false pretenses as to my part in supporting the industry.

No, the vast bulk and the quality of my reviews have been a far greater presence, I should think. Still, this said, if a few billionaires spent the same amount (as a percentage of income) on single malt scotch, then the entire profit of the industry might have been doubled!

Use the "conspiracy" buzzword, if you wish, to brush off the suggestion that Connosr has shadowy investors/creators. If you didn't, then you wouldn't be doing your job, so I can't blame you. Everybody needs to make a living, and I don't doubt that you know your way around more than a few computer programming codes/languages, etc. As for the "conspiracy" buzz word, it's been so deeply embedded in the industrialized world's collective unconscious that a mere mention of it works wonders for huge corporations. Well played, Piero. Psychological triggers work, especially that one!

At any rate, I wish you and Jean-Luc good health and prosperity! Slainte and Sante!

I'm sure this comment will be buried in no time. Whether it is buried by well-meaning dupes or a less "grass roots" process, well, there's no way any of us will know--except the two of you, and perhaps a few other anonymous insiders that keep things rolling along as smoothly as possible as it can with a bunch of whisky/ey drinkers.

Warmest regards, Rigmorole