ocdwhisky. "Another new whisky blog"

Sorry @sorren. It's starting to look like a bunch of other blogs where everything is warm and fuzzy and all is well in the wonderful world of whisky and all the people are awe-inspiring geniuses. I'm not saying don't do what you are doing, it sounds like lots of people like it and your type of blog is probably very useful and interesting to unjaded newbies. But we don't really need any more of that these days. We need bloggers whose interest goes beyond fishing for free samples (not that that necessarily applies to you), bloggers who are prepared to throw some of the industry's crap right back at them. The industry needs to be reminded that their line on NAS is patently transparent and that the current value for money ratio of single malt Scotch whisky is increasingly out of whack.

Please don't take any of this personally, it's only my opinion which is worth no more or no less than anyone else's.

I wish you the best, but unless I see a bit more edge in your blog I probably won't be back.

@BlueNote thanks for your opinion.. Every ones opinion is important, as someone who has visited the blog then your opinion counts even more..,as a blog that is still finding its feet ( still within its first year ) I obviously have to seek out readers and try to appeal to a wide range.. If I only slate the industry then no one will be interested.. I will say I have not sold my soul in order to recieve samples.. I have upset quite a few people with some of the articles and I am not afraid to say what I think.. Obviously there will be periods where everything seems rosey but I'm sure you will find there will also be periods where the boat is rocked.. Hopefully you will stick with it.. I am always open to suggestions for what you might want to see on there too ..

That's a very good and thoughtful reply @sorren. I'll stick with you.

Cheers.

@BlueNote that means a lot and thanks for your support.. And please don't forget the negative comments are sometimes more helpful than positive ones.. I need to be kept in my toes too !!

@sorren, I'm afraid I have a dissenting view. When I read that the blogger has obtained their samples directly from the distillery, I tend to take the review with a large grain of salt. Secondly, some of the blogs read like advertising from the distillery itself.Your review of BenRiach comes to mind. It was all about the awards they have received. Sorry, this is just my opinion, but things like make me not want to return and read more. Dave

@sorren I've just been back on your website and I actually enjoyed it very much. The interview with Colin Dunn was excellent and I'm looking forward to seeing how this series develops . Like BlueNote I'd like to see more articles criticizing the whisky industry but, generally speaking, your blog is now very good and, like him, I'll try to read it more often. Keep up the good work!

@DaveM, I think that in posting whisky industry news in a whisky blog that it is difficult not to come across as a promoter of the distilleries and of the corporations owning them. This is one of the reasons that I have never wanted to be a whisky blogger myself, and also one of the reasons that I don't often read whisky blogs.

A reviewer can have reviewed everything under the sun, but if his or her taste is very different to my own then his or her universe of reviews is of very little use to me. For reviews and opinions it takes some looking around to find out who out there has taste very similar to one's own. This is one of the things I like best about Connosr: having a large selection of reviewers to compare and to get a handle on the taste style of each of them to find those whose preferences will closely approach my own. The larger the number of whiskies you compare, though, the more obvious will be the divergences in taste between any two reviewers. For practical purposes I think somewhere around an 80% congruence in taste is likely to be about as close as most people will get to finding someone else with their exact same taste. And some people whom I like very much, but who routinely give unusual descriptors for their tastings, are in my opinion highly unlikely to ever find anyone who rates 50% congruence with their tasting experiences. We will always all have unique individual tastes, but those whose taste is closer to our own will more easily give us useful information for our future whisky acquisitions.

@DaveM hi Dave.. Thanks for the comments.. As for the benriach comment I assume you are referring to the post about them winning 16 medals in the recent international wine and spirits competition, if so then this is a report on that particular competition and was posted as a current news topic, same as when distilleries release new editions, yes these are supposed to be informative and are pasted from press releases and are solely for information only, not my views at all.. I wanted my blog to be up to date as much as I can therefore news topics and press release were included.. Not everyone will get emails and information on a new release like you or I do, therefore I thought it important to publish this kind of information.. I was hoping not to be just s blog that released tasting notes, my blog is too young to just do that and would have very little content... As for free samples, yes I have recieved some, I also swop a lot with friends, this does not affect my thoughts.. Check out the adnams review.. Unfortunately if I set the blog out to be very critical then believe me I would not have any followers and I would not be true to myself, if I believe s whisky is bad I say it is, if I like it I will sing its praises.. I have slated and said negative things on quite a few tastings live on Twitter which have been free samples.. Same As my article on unrest in the blogging world where I upset a lot of bloggers.. What we must all remember is that what you might like I might hate and vice versa, none of us are right and none are wrong, it is all personal.. What I can offer is to cut back on the news articles for a while if most agree it's not needed.. Thanks Sorren

@maltmate302 thanks, I have a friend lol

@Victor I tend to appreciate bloggers (such as bourbonguy) who review bourbon and whiskey that they have purchased themselves or they keep samples to a bare minimum. I find it hard to believe that someone can be critical of average or sub standard spirits when they are beholding to a distillery for samples. I am sure this is not a popular view with most people. I understand the financial component to only reviewing those spirits someone has purchased themselves. Maybe that is why I tend to appreciate them more.

@DaveM I do agree with you in a way but not all bloggers disclose the fact they recieve free samples. Therefore it is hard to only read blogs that buy their whisky.. Unless of course you are questioning the integrity of all bloggers who recieve free samples.. My opinion is those of us who do recieve a free sample and rave about it will then speak with our own money if we truly believe the whidky was good.. Hence my ever growing collection.. I would also say that at least 80% of my reviews will be from my own collection.. This still however does not make my reviews any better than the blog you mentioned.. It is all down to integrity and the kind of person we are.. You might hate my reviews where as others might like/ agree with them, that unfortunately is my loss ..

@DaveM just had a look st bourbonguy blog, I like the look of his blog. And although the first two posts are free samples then a bottle from a trade show and then asking for patrons to contribute 1 dollar each per month, I can see why you like the blog, it is a good read, similar to Ralfy who now asks for contributions, but his reviews are still honest.. Same as mark at whisky cast, sponsored and free samples but his integrity can not be questioned.. Not everyone who gets free stuff is corrupt..

I still like Ralfy's video blogs. I watch them mainly for the entertainment value and the fact he has taken a stand on not reviewing NAS whiskies.

@DaveM Ralfy is great, although he can be random lol.. I don't think there is a problem with NAS whisky, the problem is with poor whisky being sold at high prices, this is not just a problem with NAS but some age statement whisky can be crap too.. Eg snow Phoenix was a NAS sold for £50 was it not worth that ? Is it not a good whisky ? Age statements are not the sign of quality,. We have to get passed that thought, we must ask for quality and value for money.

For a very good blog from a fella who buys or trades to get all his samples, check out My Annoying Opinions.

@sorren , if you want to dump press releases and ads into your blog, I think you need to clearly distinguish them from your own opinion pieces. Right now, they're presented like your own original content. The only distinction I noticed was the much different writing styles. (Your pasted-in stuff is polished and vacuous; your original stuff is rough and friendly and enthusiastic.)

Also @sorren, what are the examples of where you've "upset quite a few people"? I'd like to read whatever that is.

@OlJas ocdwhisky.wordpress.com/2016/06/… .. Slated for upsetting certain bloggers and pr people.. ocdwhisky.wordpress.com/2016/08/… This has had negative comments behind the scenes.. Oljas I take your point, I will look into making it more transparent that the press releases are not my opinion..

Many times NAS whiskies come across as if the distillery is hiding something. If a whisky is 3 years old then state it on the bottle. Kilchoman had a 5 year old release and I didn't see anyone complaining. The issue is transparency, or lack thereof.

@sorren , who was upset by that? Am I missing something in the comments? I don't see anything there.

I think giving a bad review to an obscure whisky like Adnams, a sample of which was given to you by a friend, is a pretty safe bet. No penalty there. That is a quite different proposition to saying, for example, the Ardbeg Dark Cove that you politely requested the distillery to send you, sucked. Even if you didn't like it you probably would not want to risk being turned down the next time you politely ask for a freebie. There are a good number of bloggers who are merely brand ambassadors' lap dogs.

Your article on honesty in blogging is not particularly earth shattering, but more a lengthy stating of the obvious.

If you want to see what a blog and a blogger with no strings attached looks like, check out Curt Robinson's All Things Whisky (www.allthings whisky.com.).

Still with you mate. Let's see where you go from here.

@BlueNote I think yes and no to ATW.

Yes, he is a critic of the industry to some extent, if not always consistent in actions and words. But he does accept samples, and he does acknowledge them, and I wonder sometimes if his comments are slightly biased when directed towards some of his pet distilleries, or those with home he has friends in the industry (brand or retail)... It may not be on purpose, but it seems apparent...

@SKEPTIC. Point taken, but I have complete faith in Curt's integrity. His comments section is a better venue for discussion than most forums. My Annoying Opinions is another very independent blog.

@BlueNote agreed

@BlueNote fair point made.. Although for example I did not request the ardbeg sample nor was it actually sent from the distillery.. Although it was sent by a PR company so along the same lines.. Yes the article on bloggers is stating the obvious but I am guessing those that had taken offense were the people it was actually aimed at rather that anyone who is honest with them selfs, so therefore people like yourself will not take offense.. Will check the other blog out so thanks.. As for my annoying opinion, I have looked in on several occasions.. I think we all have to understand sometimes a sample given by someone in the industry is not seen as a free sample so not disclosed. Many bloggers don't declare free samples.. I know a few and they say they don't accept samples either..

Ok I spent the morning checking some of these sites out, obviously all are very well established sites and formatted extremely well.. I can not compete with the buying power of these guys so do need help but your point is well taken.. Looking forward I'm thinking maybe I don't need the press releases and or new release section.. Or I certainly need to look at a re-format.. Do I take it you would all prefer to see no news/press releases at all ?

@BlueNote the all things whisky is indeed a good site.. It is a lot easier to run a site like that when several people are involved, makes the buying and sharing of samples a lot easier.. I assume curt is the main reviewer and the others stay anonymous.. I like the idea of running it behind a club and having lots of tastings, this way you get more samples.. And visiting of a lot of trade fairs, festival and the distilleries also helps with the samples..

@Nozinan , I agree with your agreement with BlueNote. The ATW comments section is one of the best places for whisky chat on the web.

@sorren , my non-annoying opinion would be to include those press releases and whatnot only when you want to post your opinion on the topic alongside the industry marketing message. That would be interesting.

One of the best pieces on whisky I ever saw online, ever, was when Macallan put out some ridiculous press release about one of their NAS bottles and Whisky Sponge posted a biting satirization of it. If you read the press release and then read the Whisky Sponge thing, it was just hilarious. And it had something to say—it wasn't just fun nonsense.

@OLJas. Agreed, the feel good stuff and the press release fluff are the territory of Whisky Advocate or Whisky Magazine, or whatever John Hansell's trade magazine is called now. The day in the life of some industry shill is the kind of fawning, inconsequential crap that Caroline Dewar does for Hansell, and there is really no requirement for any more of that kind of retch inducing "journalism".

Agree with you too that the Sponge rules. Embedded in his satirical pieces are some very insightful observations. And nobody owns the Sponge.

@BlueNote Actually, Hansell isn't the owner of Whisky Advocate. That would be Marvin Shanken of Cigar Aficionado. Yes, Whisky Advocate loves to shill and write fluff pieces about their advertisers. Hansell wrote something demeaning about blended whiskies some issues back. I emailed him to point out that blended whiskies constitute 80-85% of whisky sales in the world. He got irate with me for pointing out that fact. I told him that I understood that most of his advertising dollars came from single malt whiskies. He liked that response even less.

@BlueNote the sponge is quite a character.. I did notice though the comments above regarding Ralfy.. He does actually review NAS and allthingswhisky probably review more free stuff than you realise, a lot of the reviews seem to come from the club tastings( which are generally done for free by the distilleries) then not actually disclosed as samples.. But the reviews are written very well..