How It Works: The Pot Still Column's Scoring System
- Diego Eros
- Jul 31, 2022
- 4 min read
The Pot Still Column's Scoring System
With reviews beginning to accumulate, I have become aware of the need to publish an official standard by which I assess bottles. In this article, I will try to explain my methodology for scoring and describing the whiskeys that I review.
The rating scale I use to review whiskeys for The Pot Still Column is based entirely on the enjoyability of the whiskey. I do not take into account external variables such as pricing, availability, presentation, and reviews from other sources when deciding on an appropriate figure. Because these external variables are important to one’s overall impression of a bottle, I make a point to discuss any drawbacks or advantages stemming from the aforementioned factors as part of the written review. Every score has its caveats, and no whiskey should be simplified down to a number on page. Every whiskey that finds its way into my glass, regardless of my opinion, is somebody's passion project. While I will always be honest about my feelings toward a whiskey as a commercial product, I will never do so without a certain level of implicit appreciation for the work that went into its creation.
The scoring structure that I have chosen is an amalgamation of three primary sub-scores: Nose, Taste, and Finish.
NOSE: __/100
The “nose” score is an assessment of the scents present in a whiskey as well as the experience of encountering those scents. While every whiskey drinker approaches their glass differently, smell is the most important part of the tasting experience for me. While I do not weigh the sub-scores differently (each comprises 33.33% of the overall score), I do spend the majority of the review focusing on the scent. This being so, the nose is the sub-score of which I am often most critical or complimentary depending on the direction it leans. Some variables taken into account for the nose score include ethanol presence, diversity of scents, clarity of specific notes, uniqueness of notes, intentionality and cohesiveness of the overall profile, and richness and depth.
TASTE: __/100
The “taste” score is an assessment of the whiskey’s flavors and the experience of encountering those flavors. While taste is the most directly impactful and obvious element of the review, I find it to be the lowest determinant of overall score. A great majority of the tasting experience is olfactory, meaning that it has already been experienced as part of the “nose”. Taste, limited by physical sensations such as discomfort and ethanol sting, is often less revealing of a whiskey’s tiny details and intricacies. For this reason, I use the taste score as an opportunity for the whiskey to show me something that I did not detect in the nose, or to fix an issue that I did detect. Some variables of the taste score that may improve or detract from the overall experience include texture, viscosity, flavors not present in the nose, interaction of flavors not present in the nose, sensations in the mouth and esophagus, and ability to coat the entire palate.
FINISH: __/100
The “finish” score is an assessment of the experience that lingers on the palate after every sip. The finish is the second most important factor in my review, and it can often make or break an otherwise unremarkable or fence-sitting whiskey. Some of the variables that are taken into account for the finish score include length, astringency, bitterness, texture, palate presentation, flavors, and the ratio of flavor to sensation.
OVERALL SCORE: __/100
The overall score is an average of the individual scores for Nose, Taste, and Finish, and ideally represents the quality of the experience as a whole. Instances of imperfect division resulting in decimal values will be rounded to the nearest whole number.
THE SCORING SYSTEM
My scoring process closely resembles an academic grading system. Take a look at the table below for an explanation of each letter and number grade.
While many reviewers weigh their scores very differently, the majority of my scores will be clustered around the 80-point mark. Most whiskeys on the market are good, few are excellent, and fewer are very poor. The scores will tend reflect a median ranking of “good” (~80), with few whiskeys earning Extraordinary scores (90+), and even fewer earning Unpalatable scores (59 and lower). A graphical representation of the score distribution may look like this:
Keep in mind that taste is subjective, and the designation of a score is ultimately arbitrary. It is a numerical representation of my overall experience with a whiskey, an inherently imperfect concept. Not only is the grading system imperfect, but the limitations of the human body severely affect consistency throughout this process. Some days may produce different results than others, so the score assigned to a whiskey is not binding. If it becomes apparent that a whiskey has been improperly scored, I will conduct a second review and make any necessary adjustments.
Despite my intention to keep my reviews strictly informative and unbiased, my personal biases will undoubtedly influence my tasting experiences unintentionally. To help readers gain a better understanding of my personal inclinations and limitations, I will include a brief description of my preferences below.
LIKES:
Notes: Chocolate, espresso, red chili, dark malt, sherry, musty funk, herbal, smoke, tobacco
Sensations: palate-coating, tingly, sparkling water, numbing, well-incorporated ethanol sting
Texture: oily, syrupy, creamy, dense
Finish: long-lasting, oily, fully mouthcoating, low oak, great retrohale, sticky, flavorful
DISLIKES:
Notes: Excessive oak, sharp citrus, green vegetal/grass, heavy ethanol, rubber ducks,
sour dill, prunes, unwelcome funk, stale beer
Sensations: concentrated, astringent, drying, sharp sting, vaporous ethanol, over-spiced
Textures: thin, watery, grainy, vapor-heavy
Finish: short or nonexistent, astringent, drying, low flavor density, bad flavors, grainy oak
**Taste is subjective! Your experience with any given bottle may not align perfectly with mine. I am committed to providing you with the most accurate tasting notes I can muster, but how we perceive the presence of those notes may very well be different. Drink with good spirits and an open mind!
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