I know, I know - you think I pick on the Woofboy far too much. But then again, he posts too little too much. The truth is that the hairy one is simply carrying on the tradition of the Big Four shills he seeks to emulate: The Preacher, the Rum Queen, Big Burr and the Badassitor of Rum.
All of these, and now including our ball licking Wolfboy, have a propensity for borrowing distiller marketing copy. The only difference is how blatant or literal in degree. For example, when Zaphra was introduced, Big Bad Burr's rip was almost direct. The Rum Queen did a little better, but simply reworded the same sales points (link).
As for Wolfboy? Let's compare his recent "review" of No. 3 Gin with the distiller's marketing copy...
No. 3's Website: "...welcome of Juniper..."
Wolfie's 'review': "Juniper leads out..."
No. 3: "Juniper to the fore..."
Wolfie: "...juniper is foremost"
No. 3: "Sweet Spanish orange peel..."
Wolfie: "...sweet orange flavour..."
No. 3: "...earthy dryness of angelica..."
Wolfie: "...angelica root gives the gin an earthy quality..."
No. 3: "Cardamom pods - spicy, aromatic..."
Wolfie: "...herbal and pungent cardamom..."
No. 3: "Spanish orange peel... Grapefruit peel..."
Wolfie: "...carried forward by the grapefruit and orange peel..."
No. 3: "...spiciness of coriander (and) Cardamom..."
Wolfie: "...strengthened by the cardamom and coriander spices."
Summary:
This is a typical, reworded shill, written in the usual self-confident style designed to exude faux credibility and competence, when in reality it's not much more than a Rum Queen style steal. More proof?
What first caught my attention was Wolfie's description of an "earthiness" attributed to angelica root. How unusual I thought - it's not like you can buy angelica root in the spice section like say cinnamon or ginger?! I'll bet none of us even have a clue what angelica root (as compared to its seeds, stems, or essential oils) smells or taste like.
I was amazed that Wolfie seemed to - at least until I visited the No. 3 website. More evidence?
I then read his reviews of Gordon's, Tanqueray #10, and Bombay Sapphire. And to my lack of surprise, for some reason there was no mention of angelica root and/or its "earthiness". Perhaps this is because, unlike No. 3, the distiller websites don't make much of this common component.
But No. 3 does, and - drum roll! - so does the Wolfboy.
Credit to Botanical.comFun fact: some research on angelica root found that it is commonly used in gins but not because of "earthiness". "The flavour of Angelica suggests that of Juniper berries, and it is largely used in combination with Juniper berries, or in partial substitution for them by gin distillers".
Lesson to be learned:
Shills should not be punished for being shills, nor should the shill-wannabees. It's just what they do. But readers really do need to be skeptical and choose their "experts" wisely. It is completely unrealistic for any reviewer to repeat en masse the very same aromas and descriptors so conveniently provided by the distiller.
In the real world, truly honest and competent experts (or skilled amateurs for that matter) rarely agree so completely, tend to use notably different descriptors and certainly reach differing conclusions and ratings. The only earthy quality I detect in common among the shills is...
Bullshit.
