Advice: How to choose a reviewer?

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Capn Jimbo
Rum Evangelisti and Compleat Idiot
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Advice: How to choose a reviewer?

Post by Capn Jimbo »

Advice: How to choose a reviewer?


Actually the better question is how to choose an expert. Allow me to quote from a terrific book: Whiskey & Philosophy: A Small Batch of Spirited Ideas (Fritz Allhoff & Marcus P. Adams, eds.) John Wiley & Sons Inc., Hoboken, 2009; 366 pages.

This book is actually a part of series which also includes book on Wine, Beer and Food. Each is titled "... & Philosophy". Each is a tour de force. Since whisky is the most closely related, it was "Whiskey & Philosophy" that debited my card. Its five sections include the history and culture of whiskey, the beauty and experience of whiskey, the metaphysics and epistemology of whiskey, ethics and whiskey, and whiskey and a sense of place.

Trust me, buy this book. Anyway, a Mr. Ian Dove, in a chapter named "What Do Tasting Notes Tell Us?", lays forth some pretty good criteria for choosing your "expert reviewer" using five critical questions...
Ian Dove:

1. Does the person have special training or knowledge that qualifies him or her as an expert on the topic of whisky?
2. Is the expert consistent?
3. Is the claim recent?
4. Is the expert objective?
5. Do other experts agree with the claim of this expert?
This is similar to my like approach covered in my incredible E-book on rum. In this tome I set forth the five basic styles of rum, largely based on the competent observations of the impecable Dave Broom. Based on Dove's fifth question I then searched high and low to identify reference standards for each style.

The five rums selected were chosen on the basis of (a) reasonable cost, (b) broad consensus regarding their excellence and quality and (c) easy availability. The next step - to buy these five and become intimately familiar with each, and to make your own tasting notes.


Ultimately it's your consensus that counts!


Last, find the expert(s) who not only agree with one another, but whose own notes are closest to your own. This should be a measured process over time and as you develop a decent vocabulary of your own. Capish?

I've also taken great time to try to do some of the work for you, in our famous Reviewer's Reviews (see Scuttlebutt Section). These were intended to expose reviewer bias, and also to determine whether their reviews of the five acknowledged reference standard rums fell within general and expert consensus.

I could really save you some time by naming the reviewers I'd recommend, but that'd be cheating. Read the Reviewer's Reviews to develop your own opinions and understanding.

Then you too can escape idiocy and become a "Compleat Idiot" just like me...
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Capn Jimbo
Rum Evangelisti and Compleat Idiot
Posts: 3550
Joined: Mon Dec 11, 2006 3:53 pm
Location: Paradise: Fort Lauderdale of course...
Contact:

Beginning tips...

Post by Capn Jimbo »

Beginning tips...


The single biggest mistake any new rum drinker can make is to go to one of the commercial or quasi-commercial websites or forums - the "leading" one is run by a rum rep, or to any of the other quasi-commercial sites run by guys who participate in "rum fests" and who accept tons of free product.

In both cases the unwritten rules are (a) "...it's all good" and (b) "Don't say anything really negative!". The result are softball reviews that fail to challenge either the distiller, the distributor or the product.

Don't bother.

Listen, I've been there and made the mistake of posting the usual "What should I buy next?" query. What you'll get are a bunch of unqualified opinions by other dummies who are leading you only as a result of having asked the same question before you did. The result:

You'll end up with a lot more rums that you could ever imagine, and still know or understand little or nothing about them.


Bottom line:


The one and only way you will ever learn to understand and appreciate rums is through the ways already outlined. In brief...

1. Buy the five reference standards, and taste them over and over again, until you clearly understand them, and have your own notes. Of course this assume you have a good glass and know how to taste (also covered at the main site).

Don't rush this stage!

2. Find the consensus expert(s) whose notes most agree with your own, and explore some of their other recommendations. Consult our Reviewer's Reviews.

3. When you taste a new rum, first determine what style it is (don't listen to anyone but Dave Broom or myself in this regard), and then experience it on that basis. Always, always compare it to the reference standard.

Never taste or rate a rum alone. It must always be compared.

4. If you find a rum that supercedes one of the reference standards I've conveniently suggested, congratulations! You now have your very own reference standard for future comparison.

This last will not happen for awhile, as the reference standards provided are all world class rums and very, very hard to beat. But if not exceeded, they can be matched...

Hopefully, by you!
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