Reviewer's Review: The Fat Rum Pirate

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How do you rate the Fat Rum Pirate (five is best)?

5
1
13%
4
3
38%
3
0
No votes
2
4
50%
1
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 8

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Capn Jimbo
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Reviewer's Review: The Fat Rum Pirate

Post by Capn Jimbo »

I'm not much for reviewing reviewers. The reason?


Simple. If the Lone Caner had his way, any red-assed monkey could follow his 5000 words of rambling in his "Guide to Reviewing" and somehow, yup, present him or herself as yet another self-appointed, self-published rum reviewer. God help us. But we all know the truth. No one will ever really read or follow the Caner's massive missive; thus, we are safe!

But along came the Fat Rum Pirate. Just like most of the few wannabees like the Frozen One, the Caner, et al, he too started out at the Shillery. The goal is to somehow promote your own site while simultaneously managing to avoid being liberated by the Preacher. In the old days, this was quite a trick, but a fair number of them succeeded.

The Rum Project was an exception, as I quickly reached the point where I simply couldn't stomach the Shillery's drivel, erased all my posts and resigned. Of course the Preacher couldn't have that, so he worked around the clock to save a few posts, so that he could maintain his illusion that he'd "liberated me".

These days though, he must be desperate for posters, so he now allows the Fatrumpirate to blatantly link his site with no pretense whatsoever. The Chubster engaged me in a series of emails to register here, but it became clear his goal was not really to participate, not to mention the general misunderstanding he had of rum, and general avoidance of the main issue: unlabelled additives.


So why the review?

Simple. I checked recently and was shocked that he'd rapidly reviewed about 90 rums - certainly enough to demand a review if only to protect the public. The results...

. . . . . . .Image

Here goes. The Fat One is noted in "red". Compare to the same number of rums in a normal distribution (blue). Fatty's distribution is "squashed" and is absolutely not normal. Here are the reasons:

1. First of all, this reviewer makes perfectly clear in his site's headline that his site is "An Unsophisticated Review of the World of Rum". It is.

2. He also makes clear that his reviews are purely personal preference. There is no pretense or effort to review rums in accord with their actual and comparative qualities, or with real accuracy. If he likes it, good. If not, bad.

So how about his preferences? First, he's not much bothered by sugar, although he does take an isolated swipe at Diplomatico, an easy target. He takes no note of the now well known ALKO and other reliable government testing for sugar and other solids. Further, he tends to add an ice cube, and like a certain Canadian reviewer, he also has a tendency to prefer rum with cola.

Ouch! There's also a certain age and price bias at times, and he tends to like sweet and smooth. As a result, some very worthy pure rums suffer as do cane juice rums (and for the same reason).


Flat Ass Bottom LIne


At least the Fat Rum Pirate is honest. He doesn't pretend to review anything but his still limited experience and understanding, based solely on his very personal preference. This accounts for the squashed curve, as it is only a matter of random selection whether he personally likes a rum. Because he is choosing from a variety of styles, lumps sugared products in with pure ones, cane juice with molasses, flavored and overproof, it is impossible for the ratings to be normally distributed.

Had he stuck to say, just one unaltered style, the results might have been different. While he claims his ratings should be ignored, he goes to great length to post them, along with - a voting scheme - so that we also learn what a bunch of visiting monkeys think.

What we are missing is unbiased competence. In truth, the Fat One is a perfect example of what the Lone Caner's guide to being a reviewer may lead to. Heaven help us.

Sorry my friend: I hate to say it but you need to spend more time learning how to taste and evaluate before you waste much more time and effort. It's not that hard...


Score: two stars (five is best). Using his own system, the Pirate gets two for some decent writing and information and for effort. But what we don't need is yet another personal preference, self-admitted "unsophisticated" and thus misleading "reviews". The Lone Caner should take note.




*******
http://thefatrumpirate.com/
Last edited by Capn Jimbo on Fri Mar 20, 2015 2:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Dai
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Post by Dai »

I've read quite a few of the fatrumpirate reviews but there again I read reviews for entertainment value as I never taste what they taste. I prefer to do my own tastings through samples.
Life is under no obligation to give us what we expect!

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mamajuana
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Post by mamajuana »

First off I have to say I have nothing against the Pirate. I like him overall as a person. That being said I must say I also share some concerns that the Cap'n has posted.

The main concern is the preference issue. I would have to say this is a major downfall. One cannot compare rum based on preference. He seems to be a "hater" of the white rum I have noticed. He states he is not a "white rum lover."

If he does not enjoy all types or rum or at the very least able to compare each type of rum and rate based on that baseline then maybe he ought to get into whiskey or some cognac. I also find the addition of cola to be rather disturbing.

The recent rum of the month following a Seale "interview" is the most off recently I have seen. The interview I think was a waste of Seale's time and did not portray correct information with regards to how plantation may obtain his product. Most of the questions were absolutely a waste and brushed off with quick responses. In some he seemed to be almost sucking up rather than asking a real question. In one he was almost asking for a freebie. Terrible "interview."

2 stars, I feel his site has really been going downhill as of late.
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reviewer reviews

Post by Quine »

I don't think anyone is making their living on these reviews so if you're not having some fun doing them what is the point? Not only do reviewers have different styles and tastes but their process, recorded for posterity or not, are all about enjoyment of the product. Most sites including TFRP have links to many other sites so there is plenty of opinion to go around. My own goal is to find a reviewer who likes what I like so if he or she says "rum xyz is great" and I haven't tried it I have good reason to believe I will like it if I can find it!
The difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference.
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Capn Jimbo
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

Excellent Quine...


...but only to a point, particularly when you say the goal is to find a reviewer whose tastes match your own. If that is your only goal, and if your tastes match the Fat One's, then you've got a winner. And this presupposes that the reader is already knowledgable and experienced insofar as rum, understands the styles, has his or her own reference standards, and appreciates the value of purity, quality and honesty in labeling.

This is where an "unsophisticated" reviewer, driven solely by his own ignorance and personal preferences falls short of the mark and for good reason. You can't learn from such a reviewer. Better you should find a truly skilled and honest reviewer whose tastes not only match your own, but who educates and poses new challenges and rums from which you can learn and enhance your appreciation of rum.

Sadly, rogue rum is terribly misrepresented AND mispresented, particularly when most "rum" is actually secretly altered. Thus a website based on misunderstanding and purely personal preference (pun intended) will fail the reader. Unfortunately, sites like the Frozen or Fat One's tend to be commercial wannabees (Frozen One), and are often designed to obtain freebies or perhaps here, to satisfy personal ego (Fat One)? You decide.

I'd amend your very valid observation only to suggest that one must find a competent, skilled, experienced and educational reviewer, whose tastes match your own.

For example, I cannot recommend enough reading the reviews of Dave Broom, F. Paul Pacult, Ralfy, Jackson, the Maniacs, Serge and yes, even the Project (where we have taken particular care to write reviews in terms and using accessible descriptors and summaries), not to mention the competent observations of our talented members. No prisoners taken here.

Carry on...
Last edited by Capn Jimbo on Mon Mar 30, 2015 4:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Quine
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Post by Quine »

Capn, I take your point and of course all things being equal having a fine (perhaps even trained) palette and the skills necessary to express what you find is always going to be of value. But refined or amateur, TFRP is not without experience. He has certainly tasted a lot of rum.

I take everyone with a grain of salt. I don't hope to find a reviewer who matches my taste perfectly and indeed my taste keeps evolving. My "favorite rum" has changed a half dozen times in the last year, though I keep finding myself going back to Angostura 1919 which TFRP didn't particularly like. Moreover, I have some 10 rums on my shelf now, they differ widely (compare S.T. 1796 or Brugal 1888 to Diplomatico R.E. E.D 15, or Pilar dark) and yet I find I like them all! It's the variety that keeps me coming back.

Lastly I thought part of the point of rum was the additives? If you take away all the tweaked rums leaving behind only the "pure ones" how many would you have left?
The difference between theory and practice is that in theory there is no difference.
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Capn Jimbo
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Post by Capn Jimbo »

A brief addenda...


Apparently the Fat One took umbrage at my comment implying his goal might be to obtain "freebies". In an email he made sure to let me know the does NOT take freebies, but that the deluge of the 90 rums he's reviewed in short order were either purchased or obtained through "friends".

Still, with the very commercial appearance of his site, it's hard for me not to remain skeptical, but certainly not accusatory...
edgarallanpoe
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Post by edgarallanpoe »

Well...just my opinion here...

As long as he is being up front about his preferences and how he does things, I see no problem. You know upfront what he is about so it is up to the reader to take what they will from him.

I see no issues. If he were hiding something, that would be different. Also, if he was a long time rum drinker he would probably have a pretty good stash built up *before* he started his blog so it wouldn't be impossible to rate 90 rums fairly quickly.
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