Grading Out

@Glenmax, first some suggested reading: look under Wall Categories, click General Whisky Chat, then find and open a previous discussion named Whisky Scores.

My feeling about your including cost in the score, is that I would like to know where cost falls, but I would prefer the score to only reflect your sensory experience with the whisky. But having said that in principle, I actually rely on the review text much more than the score. Then there are probably some who just do not have an issue with cost at all.

IMHO, scores are currently issued by both amateurs and pros, they are all over the place, and they roughly reflect whether you liked the whisky or not. Then there are issues such as, should a score be relative to a class (whatever that is), and should you be required to consume a minimum number of liters (or barrels) before you are allowed to submit a review. And your feeling that you might change your mind later on, is also a good point. There are lots of problems with the (non)system, but it is surely better than nothing. So what would you like your score to mean ?

Thanks @AboutChoice.

@Glenmax this is the discussion on Whisky Scores (connosr.com/wall/discussion/…)

The price can never be a valid element for scoring for two reasons:

• Lagavulin 16 costs € 40-45 in Belgium but € 70-80 in Spain. That's not a tax difference or something - other malts are cheaper in Spain.
• Two years ago, Lagavulin 21 cost € 185. Now it fetches € 300-400 easily. Are you going to re-score every year?

Your taste will also evolve over time, but still you can evaluate the objective qualities of a dram, right? At least to a certain degree you can say something is well made even if it's not your personal taste. Remember that a score is always a personal opinion of course, and that it can never be 100% objective.

@WhiskyNotes, I'm glad you mentioned "evaluate objective qualities...". I'm new, and not having attended any whisky-tasting training, I don't think I know how to determine if a whisky is well-made or not. This is something for which I rely on the pros. Actually this could make for an informative "discussion" :-)