Take reviews with a pinch of salt 🧂
So you’re scrolling through a rum or whisky review and you’re seeing tasting notes, scores, facts, and some opinions and trying to decide what rum (or whisky) you should try or buy next. It might seem counterproductive for me to do a blog post on taking reviews and tasting notes with a pinch of salt but I’m a big fan of being as honest and unbiased as possible and if that can help you navigate through my reviews then all the better!!
Thousands of people every week are tasting and recording tasting notes and they exist for a reason but there are some key things you should take into consideration and ignore when reading these reviews or tasting notes – We all have personal preferences when it comes to anything we like and that’s the same when it comes to rum.
A great example for this could be an Agricole style of rum, I don’t hide the fact that the young and unaged cane juice isn’t something I generally enjoy and I’m only at the beginning of my journey with the aged. So there are a lot of incredible rums and whiskies that I will rate poorly because they aren’t my cup of tea (yet). If you like that style of spirit then a score of 2/10 shouldn’t put you off whereas if you’re at the same stage as me you might also want to wait a while before you try.
BIAS ALERT! As much as we try not to it’s very hard to remain fully impartial… even if I recorded my tasting notes during a blind tasting my subsequent write-up is done knowing the brand so I may subconsciously write in a more positive or negative tone based on my wider opinions of the brand or any associated “hype” surrounding the rum. I’m only human after all.
It’s also great to call out here that my blog comes from the opinion of a rum drinker, so my journey into whisky is influenced as such.
But really it’s all about the tasting notes. We will all get slightly different notes based on our palates and some people may be able to pull out subtle nuances but when it comes to mutually identified characteristics we may still get different things. Whether that’s Caramel vs Toffee or Cherries vs Cranberries the base flavours should be the same for everyone (tropical fruit, dried fruit, smoky, woody, vegetal, spiced) – it can be useful to reference a flavour wheel, especially when early on in your tasting journey (there are loads available on the web).
This leads nicely to my final point… don’t take the scores at face value. If you can, look for a guide on their scoring method, or better yet, see how they rated other rums/whiskies you’ve tried. That way, you’ll get a clearer picture of how their tastes align with yours, and you’ll be able to better interpret their scores as you explore new rums. And remember some reviewers may reserve higher scores for truly exceptional spirits, while others might rate more generously.
Top tip: check out a review that person has done for a rum/whisky you know you like and see if you agree. If you know I rate spirit ABC highly then you might be able to use that as a benchmark or indicator for other reviews.
