A whisky will only appear on this list for review IF:

1. The product is clearly identified as a whisky/whiskey or lists whisky as a major ingredient.
2. The whisky is available commercially in a major market for general sale. That means no purchasing at a distillery or special sets like casks.
3. The whisky is a current, standard commercial expression from a recognized brand or distillery from official or major independent bottlers. This means no highly limited, one time only editions (like first runs or auctions) and nothing brewed or mixed in someone's backyard.
4. The whisky costs between $10 and $200 US for 750ml. (and then leaning heavily toward the lower end)
5. The whisky expression has not been out of release for >5 years at the time of tasting. If a distillery ends a line (or updates it) you'll still see the older line on shelves for a bit, plus it may track improvements in the brand. I won't be “retiring” any reviews, but I won't be picking up dusty old bottles for the site.
6. All tastings will start:
   • Poured Neat
   • At full bottle proof
   • At room temperature.
   Further tastings can include water or temperature changes and the best results will be considered for scoring, but no other alternative tastings will be done. All whiskies stand or fall on their merits as whiskies, not ingredients. I may mix something up or try a whisky in a different form and comment on it, but this will not reflect in the score.

This is intended to limit reviews to whiskies that you, the reader, would likely be interested in and actually able/likely to buy. Me encouraging you to buy (or discouraging you from buying) a bottle of something that you cannot in actuality buy anyway is a waste of time and digital ink. I will include expressions that are single year (such as with Bruichladdich), since these are still major releases. Single cask and single barrel releases will also be included, their limited edition nature is pretty insurmountable.

These are the common review parts and how each is defined, determined and listed.

• Review Number
• Whisky Name / Type / Region
• Cost
• Taste Score
• Adjusted Score
• ABV
• Review Date
• Smell Notes
• Taste Notes / Second Chance
• About the Review
• Awards

Purely the number of the whisky review, this has no real effect on the review data except to give me a useful means to navigate between reviews chronologically.

The name I give a whisky will be decided by a combination of the front label and what I know of the whisky:

• Brand / Distillery: Usually identified by what's on the label in the largest type at the top, but I will defer to known marketing and advertising to get the final say. This should be self explanitory, but consider Wild Turkey. Most lists use "Wild Turkey", but "Austin Nichols" appears higher on the label, but in a smaller font. I've used "Austin Nichols", but I've come to question that decision.
• Title: The title is made up of 3 parts:
  • Pre Age: Anything that appears above the age statement on the label that is not a reserved phrase.
  • Age Statement: The age of the whisky, usually central to the label, but occationally I have to hunt a bit for it.
  • Post Age: Anything that appears below the age statement on the label that is not a reserved phrase
  Reserved phrases are things like defined regions (Highland, Lowland), types (Straight Bourbon, Sour Mash) or restrictions (Single Barrel, Unchillfiltered). Consider Balvenie 15 and Balvenie 10. The 15 is referred to as a “Fifteen Single Barrel” and the 10 “Founders Reserve 10” because of the difference between brand titles and reserved words.
• Country Term: Scotland = Scotch and Ireland = Irish and so forth.
• Whisky Type: As listed on the label.
• (Region): The defined Scotch regions, US state, Irish County or Canadian Province as given for Single Grains or Straight Bourbons. Blends are not given regions unless they specify them.

This is not what I paid for the bottle. I actualy do a bit of research on the cost and what I list as MSRP is an averaged price for a new 750ml bottle (regardless of what I actually purchased), rounded to the nearest 5 $US with information from the stores in my area, a dozen USA alcohol control price lists, and three online retailers (see the links page). What you pay at your local store will vary in direct proportion to how far you live from my house, what liquor stores you visit and the tax laws of the state, county and country in which you reside.

Grumpy Note On Cost

Skip the rest of this section if you're not in any way concerned with what I claim the cost of a bottle to be, or you don't have some "super collectible" you want me to appraise.

Just FYI:
(a) I'm not selling any of the bottles or their contents
(b) I'm not giving away any of the bottles or their contents
(c) This page isn't an ad for any store or product
(d) Your mileage and enjoyment and tastes may vary. A Lot.
(e) I cannot find you a good deal on a bottle of whisky
(f) I will not buy you a bottle and ship it to you.
(g) I can't give you any advice on finding or legally transporting alcohol
(i) I will not buy a bottle of anything FROM you
(j) I do not appraise bottles (see below)


I can't tell you what your bottle of dusty GlenWhatever is worth. There are ways to find out... sort of, but it comes down to having a rare bottle in good, sealed condition and finding a collector who wants it and will really pay you for it. The market determines the price, and I'm not that market. Generally though, while you might have a million dollar bottle from a closed distillery in mint condition, in all likelihood you've got a dusty curiosity. If so, you can either display it as chuff, toss it or roll the dice and pour it. (Disclaimer: Not encouraging you to drink the contents of old bottles with rusted caps, not my fault if you find out later that it was worth millions or you suffer ill health effects)

Oh, and like my bottle of Canadian Club from 1973, the whisky inside the glass isn't aging anymore, so it's not 36 years old.

End of grumpy rant, sorry about that.

Taste Score

This is not a report card score! So ignore the idea of anything below 75 being awful. Above 50 points means more pleasure than pain! A score above 60 is downright solid in my reviews, and is a score that I don't give easily. If I'd pass cash across a bar to drink it, it gets at least 50 points. There's some up or down in that, so a 48 means I'd buy it with some reluctance or gladly take it for free at a wedding. A 60+ score means I'd buy the drink for a pal without thinking twice, even for a modest present. A 70+ score means I'd give this as a nice present to someone who drinks whisky, which is no small feat and anything beyond that is downright awesome. This is my personal taste score, from 00 to 99.

Score	Implies
Undrinkable
00 - 04	There is something fundamentally wrong and near criminal with calling this a beverage, let alone a whisky. It is absolutely impossible to swallow, akin to wood alcohol or rancid milk.
05 - 09	The first sip is barely drinkable and my mind refuses to allow the muscles in my hand to raise the glass to my lips a second time. Perhaps more useful as a cleaning agent or adhesive solvent.
Awful
10 - 14	Swill. Awful, disgusting swill. I can, with some Herculean force of will, manage a second or (so help me) third sip.
15 - 19	Miserable in ways that might make entertaining reviews. There is still some tiny glimmer of an actual beverage in the glass, or perhaps you've had too much already. Still undrinkable in any realistic sense.
Unpleasant
20 - 24	The bottom of the bottom shelf, which means it's almost useful as a mixer, but not quite. You'll know it's in there. If you drink it straight you'll be squarely in cringe and huff territory, and an offer of a second glance will draw a flat glare.
25 - 29	Something that can be mixed with really strong ingredients to mask the vile flavors in a cocktail of dubious quality. Still awful enough to attempt to get friends to try it as a gag. This is the bottom of the bottom for what you'd actually mix up and offer to someone you like in a glass, along with a heartfelt apology.
Poor An unsatisfying drink, one that I regret but may possibly finish.
30 - 34	Drinkable as a wince-inducing shot in a test of will or maskable with realistic kitchen ingredients in a cocktail of fair to moderate quality. Acidic flavors like orange juice or cranberry juice will cover most of it, lesser ingredients will cover the taste like a bad toupee.
35 - 39	"Mixable" is the best quality you could apply, and even weak ingredients (sweet juices or cola) will mask the burn. You'll pop one off as a fast shot if required, there'll be no smelling or savoring this, but at that point you're going for a different effect.
Sub Par I'd drink it for free without griping or buy it if there's nothing better.
40 - 44	Drinkable straight with a bit of cringing as an absolute last resort, if it's open bar at the wedding or your friend's house where you start to weigh your desire to numb the pain of your cousin's wedding with the effort of getting through a straight shot or two. You might want to think about drinking at a different friend's house, or carrying a flask though. This would be stuff for fair and easy mixing, though.
45 - 49	Good mixer material, maybe still a little cringe-worthy for the first drink, and you might manage a breathy "Smooooth" afterwards. This is the far end of the grey zone of drinkability, just on the edge of "not bad" or "eh.. it's ok" either due to a lack of good tastes or an minor abundance of bad ones. Not something you'd ever consider buying for your home bar.
Barely Tolerable I might pay money to drink this.
50 - 54	Middle of the Mid Shelf, this is stuff that's good for mixing, fair for drinking if the need arises. This should really be the lowest you're willing to go for a generic go-to whisky for all occasions if you don't stock a big bar and something you'll take for free with only a tiny sigh. Scanning a bar's whisky options you'll grudgingly add this to your fall back list until you've double checked the shelves.
55 - 59	A backup straight drink at a cash bar or an easy go-to freebie. You'll wish there were something a little better at the bar (or that you'd bought something nicer) for the first glass or so, then it won't bother you very much. We're also moving off the mixer chart and into solid cheap-but-drinkable range.
Acceptable I'd steer a friend to pay money for this.
60 - 64	OK, now we're getting into the right fair drinking, stuff that passes for "top shelf" at most small bars.. This isn't what you'd recommend first to a friend for a major purchase but it'll be right there in second to appeal to a wider audience. Too nice for mixing unless you're trying to impress people. Spy this at a bar and you probably won't need to finish an inventory of their shelves. If you're experimenting with a wider range of whiskies and get one of these, you'll shrug it off as a good, but not necessarily repeatable experiment.
65 - 69	This is top of the mid shelf, drinks that you'll drink regularly and happily because they're decent drams and probably inexpensive and that you'll only mix reluctantly because it'd be a real waste. You would happily keep a bottle of this on shelf at home for sharing, although not necessarily as the "Good Whisky". Spy this at a bar and you'll order a glass for you and a friend.
Recommendable I'd buy this as a gift for a whisky loving friend.
70 - 74	Something you'll pay good cash for at a pub (not likely a bar), unless it's one of those hidden gems of quality over perception. It's very recommendable, all around drinkable and something you'd share in a moment. It might be a minor flaw or just a lack of character that keeps it from higher status.
75 - 79	Truly drinkable and sharable whiskies, short of the superstar ranks through either a personal quirk or lack of overall charisma. Something you'd give as a gift, hand over a glass of with a satisfied grin or happily recommend to a fellow drinker.
Excellent I'd buy this for a special occasion gift or save up to buy this for my top shelf stock.
80 - 84	Above eighty means it's a first class whisky, everything you'd hope for and very little or nothing you don't.
85 - 89	All star whisky, first rate in every way and simply lacking or overabundant in one characteristic that would push it over the 90 mark and into superstar status.
Fantastic
90 - 94	Spectacular, legendary and incredible whisky with fantastic tastes, traits and characters. A rarity in a world of rarities. You might stop in mid glass to call another whisky friend to share the joy. There should be no unwelcome flavors, a good balance, complexity and style.
96 - 99	Unbelievable whisky, possessing every character of smell, taste, feel and follow up in abundance with especially wonderful traits, depths and complexity. So good as to border on ecstasy.

The latest adjusted score formula is:
score + (score - 50)^3 / 2500+ (-2/3 cost + 20)
Go here for a detailed description.

Whatever the label says. I will review a whisky at full strength first and make notes. I will almost always then add water and continue tasting, but any detailed notes will only show up in detail if it in any way improved the whisky. Most of the time I drink whisky around the standard 40%, but there are oft times where higher or lower levels taste better.

The dates that the review was posted. This isn't going to be the date of the actual review except in really old cases (pre 2007)

Notes from “nosing”, without and with water, for the entire time I have the whisky in the glass. I don't call it nosing because that sounds a bit frou-frou.

Using info from the whisky page I'll try and describe everything I taste. Understand that what I taste and what I like are going to be different from everyone else.

Geenral details about the whisky, things like why I bought it or other bits of information not related to my tasting.

Because everybody likes to get awards! There's no actual official medal or anything, I just like making little medal icons. Astute readers may notice that there is no 100 medal for taste. The day I find a whisky that scores 100 I'm abandoning all others. Also, mathematically I score from 00 to 99.

	70→74	75-79	80→84	85→89	90→94	95→99	100
Taste Medals
Ajusted Score Medals
Golden Bottle Award	Given to whiskies with a score ≥ 70 and a cost ≤$40.
Silver Bottle Award	Given to whiskies with a score ≥ 60 and a cost ≤$40.
Premium Award - Gold	Given to whiskies with a score ≥ 80 and a cost ≤$60.
Premium Award - Silver	Given to whiskies with a score ≥ 70 and a cost ≤$70.

In my personal opinion, the keys to a good whisky glass are (1) A curved "bowl" shape in the base for swirl and pour (2) some inward taper at the top to concentrate the smell somewhat (3) more height than width (4) a logical volume for drinking liquor.

Here are some examples of glassware you might have at home already that I don't recommend. Red wine glass: The bowl and taper are fine, but these tend to be too large and lose the whisky's nose in the giant mouth. Brandy sniffer: Same problems as (A), although the extra taper is nice. Some like the stem. Slight rounded tumbler: Lacks any taper. This one is also slightly frou-frou. Squared bottom tumbler: The bottom is like a soda can: a hard right angle that is useless for sipping or swirling, plus it lacks taper. Shot Glass: Used to avoid tasting a liquor at all costs. Absolutely useless.

And here are a few of my standard drinking glasses. This is a four hundred dollar whisky glass from Reithmongertonns, which I picked up in Madrid while touring Europe in my Leer. Ah, feel the practicality! Or perhaps it's a stemless white wine glass I snagged at a local big-box store for a grand total of nine bucks a pair. This glass came free in a Bruichladdich 10yo tin and works perfectly well as an alternative, having almost all the same properties as the one on the left plus the etched logo. The topmost flare is supposed to change how the whisky flows into your mouth, I suspect, but I haven't noticed much difference in taste. And this is came free in a set with Glenmorangie 10 and is slightly stouter and thicker than (A).

All that said, I've enjoyed whisky out of a beer tankard, a frilly china tea cup, a giant studded goblet, a tin camp cup and even straight from the bottle. Experiment a little, keep a lookout for gift sets around the holidays and do whatever works. Don't worry about stocking your cabinets with top end crystal, save your cash for practical whisky!

With the exception of a few college-era bottomshelf beasts whose memories are blessedly lost to me, everything I've tasted shows up (or will shortly show up) on the Review page. That means if you want to know what Crazy Enis Bourbon tastes like you'll have to wait it out or take the hit personally. If you're really interested in getting me to drink it you can certainly send along a message and I'll add it to my (somewhat lengthy) list, but understand that I never open a full sized bottle without finishing a bottle, which takes time. I've already raided most of the liquor stores within driving distance for minis and shorties, so unless I go further afield I'm probably not going to grab it on a whim. So, short of you mailing it to me, which would be a fascinating study in both internet trust and the postage system, I'll get around to it if I get around to it.

I'm a guy that loves whisky and builds web pages. I don't drink that much (really!) so I've set an update schedule of 2 or 3 a week. This gives me a chance to build up a buffer using minis and shorties while I savour my big bottles. This schedule will continue based on my ability to get new sampler bottles and produce updates.

I'm not in any way affiliated with any distillery, bottler or other liquor business (except as a customer or member of their fan club), and I have (yet) to receive anything by way of compensation or product. I doubt it's very likely, but if I do I'll reveal that fact in the notes.

I'm sure everyone can find something they agree and disagree with here, so if I've slighted your favorite dram or extolled one you hate.. well... build your own page! Honestly, I'm sure my tastes in whiskies are as unique as yours, the experts and my wife's. Sorry if I said your favorite bottle contained a taste horror of Lovcraftian proportions and made me sterile.

I like dynamic data and originally built this site using javascript to update automagically, using a sort of flat javascript database. I see you laughing in the back!

Later I moved to a server with actual server-side code and database support, so much of what makes this site tick is now in the back end.

If by some unlikely coincidence you're interested in how any of it works, you can investigate the javascript files in the background (if you haven't already done so). I'd point out how but anyone interested enough to care is going to be able to find the .js files pretty easily, they're not exactly hidden. If you want to know how the PHP and database stuff is done, you'll have to email me for that info. Salude!