Interim résumé: My take on ratings

I have tasted and written about 8 Scottish single malt whiskies so far, and I feel it is time again to take a breath and look back on the steps I have taken up to now on my whisky journey. Especially, I start to compare the impressions I get and what I write down to some of the countless whisky reviews that are out there already. Many reviewers give marks or ratings to the whiskies they try, based on different systems. One of the most common systems gives a number of points out of 100, with most whiskies ranging between 80 and 90 points. I thought about this a lot, but came to the conclusion that I won't go with that and don't give such marks to my whiskies.

The main reason for that decision is that in my opinion, enjoying whisky is all about taste, and taste is a very personal thing. Therefore, if I rate a whisky especially high because I like the taste so much, I think this information is of very limited use to others. When I try, on the other hand, to rate the quality of the whisky, I don't really feel qualified for that task, my senses not being gauged and so on. Every whisky certainly has its strong points and its weaknesses. Furthermore, I like different styles of whisky in different situations. My notes, therefore, are always subjective, and to be interpreted as a momentaneous impression at a certain point in time, and even for the sake of a private ranking list I wouldn't feel comfortable reducing everything down to a number.

For sure, in my tasting notes my personal preferences shine through all the same (see for example Laphroaig Quarter Cask or Benromach 10 year old). I don't see a problem in that - after all this is my personal tasting blog. But everyone who is interested and reads my notes will get that from the text. If I start ranking the whiskies by giving 92 to the one and only 88 to the other, this simplifies my impressions in a way that I don't think is appropriate.

Long story short - I didn't give marks to my whiskies, and I won't do that in the future. In my opinion, the complexity of whiskies just can't be adequately represented by a single number.

Slàinte mhath!