Thursday, 31 December 2009
Friday, 25 December 2009
Wednesday, 16 December 2009
Saturday, 12 December 2009
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
Friday, 4 December 2009
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
Saturday, 28 November 2009
Wednesday, 25 November 2009
Monday, 23 November 2009
Australian Whisky ... possibilities made real.
Friday, 20 November 2009
Monday, 16 November 2009
Saturday, 14 November 2009
Thursday, 12 November 2009
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Thursday, 29 October 2009
Wednesday, 28 October 2009
85 - How to cope with bad Whisky
I wish to stress that most Whisky is either good or excellent, but the good stuff shows up the very small bad number of bottlings for what they are, ... so buyer beware !!!
Sunday, 25 October 2009
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
Saturday, 17 October 2009
Saturday, 10 October 2009
Saturday, 3 October 2009
... Thanks !
Thank you to all you concerned and thoughtful
Malty-meanwellers, I am now over that rather rotton 'cold'
virus as was obviously in evidence at 'whiskyreview' 79
... time for a hot toddy !
just a bunged nose but the old smells
and flavours are returning
hooray !
Sunday, 27 September 2009
Saturday, 26 September 2009
... an update on 'whiskyreviews' marks calculations
... ooo! er!
... it seems that my Marks for all the Spirits reviewed have caused some confusion with many folk.
Why score Blends as high as Malts? Why score Rums like Whiskies? Why give scores at all?
Importantly, all marks from any source are opinion, either informed or otherwise !
Marks (out of 100) essentially give an instinctive/educated snap-shot of a spirits worth.
I attach a mail from 'raytownloc' regarding this after mentioning to him in a mail that price is a factor in Spirits' assessments, but I now appreciate that I have moved from a local to global context when reviewing, ... and have altered calculations in my Scoring as a result.
For re-calibration take three marks off Blended Whiskys and Rums, and two marks off Blended Malts.
Add one mark for Cask-strength natural Whiskies.
I think I figured it out... you are more rating the producer, than the whisky itself. To be honest, I dont know why i get so hung up on it, its just numbers, but I like everything else about your program. the people you meet and interview, the on location tastings, the insight into production and enjoyment, even your quirky little sense of humor... so I guess I should just let it go.
But my suggestion is that you think about what your ratings are trying to accomplish, and think about how your viewers might use them to make purchasing decisions. My main argument is that for example, I live in Argentina and pay 33 pesos for Teacher's, 65 pesos for Black Bottle, and 225 pesos for Highland Park 12 y.o. If I were to use your rating system exclusively, I would never see a reason to spend the 225 pesos on Highland Park.... and how I would be missing out!!!!! And why would I (theoretically) be deprived of that pleasure? Because you were scolding the distillery for adding coloring, using a bourbon bottle, or using chill filtration (which im sure is also used for the malts in the blends). See my point? In any case something to think about, but keep up the good work I'll be tuning in as long as you keep it going! Just wish I could get all the malts you can!
... and what you are saying does make me think more about the context of marks. They come from buying and drinking in Scotland which was fine at a local level, but now, thanks to the internet, the context is global !!!
Prices vary hugely Internationally, ... here BB is &14 and HP12, £22, when buying economically.
The drinking experience seems also influenced by altitude, heat, food diet and other stuff so a global reference will vary more than a local one.
I found that my Johnny Walker green label smelled/tasted 'different' when sailing on the Nile and sitting on the Great Wall of China, and was 'odd' when I was in Havana, Cuba.
What I will do is listen carefully to the feed-back from everyone including yourself, and cool-off on the cost factor. Also, I will focus the scores a little by giving 'Blend Marks', 'Malt Marks' and 'Rum Marks' e.t.c.
Thanks again for your time on this matter & could I use our Message as a 'whisky stuff' Blog Item ?
... it seems that my Marks for all the Spirits reviewed have caused some confusion with many folk.
Why score Blends as high as Malts? Why score Rums like Whiskies? Why give scores at all?
Importantly, all marks from any source are opinion, either informed or otherwise !
Marks (out of 100) essentially give an instinctive/educated snap-shot of a spirits worth.
I attach a mail from 'raytownloc' regarding this after mentioning to him in a mail that price is a factor in Spirits' assessments, but I now appreciate that I have moved from a local to global context when reviewing, ... and have altered calculations in my Scoring as a result.
For re-calibration take three marks off Blended Whiskys and Rums, and two marks off Blended Malts.
Add one mark for Cask-strength natural Whiskies.
Rating System
I think that in the end you'll find it best to keep price out of the rating system, as most wine critics who use the 100 point system tend to do, You often hear a critic say something along the lines of "I'm going to score this wine an 89, but for $100 a bottle, I think its a pass... I think that you can find 3 or 4 California Chardonays of equal or greater quality for under $40" (for example).I think I figured it out... you are more rating the producer, than the whisky itself. To be honest, I dont know why i get so hung up on it, its just numbers, but I like everything else about your program. the people you meet and interview, the on location tastings, the insight into production and enjoyment, even your quirky little sense of humor... so I guess I should just let it go.
But my suggestion is that you think about what your ratings are trying to accomplish, and think about how your viewers might use them to make purchasing decisions. My main argument is that for example, I live in Argentina and pay 33 pesos for Teacher's, 65 pesos for Black Bottle, and 225 pesos for Highland Park 12 y.o. If I were to use your rating system exclusively, I would never see a reason to spend the 225 pesos on Highland Park.... and how I would be missing out!!!!! And why would I (theoretically) be deprived of that pleasure? Because you were scolding the distillery for adding coloring, using a bourbon bottle, or using chill filtration (which im sure is also used for the malts in the blends). See my point? In any case something to think about, but keep up the good work I'll be tuning in as long as you keep it going! Just wish I could get all the malts you can!
Re:Rating System
... you have clearly put thought and time into your message, ... thanks.... and what you are saying does make me think more about the context of marks. They come from buying and drinking in Scotland which was fine at a local level, but now, thanks to the internet, the context is global !!!
Prices vary hugely Internationally, ... here BB is &14 and HP12, £22, when buying economically.
The drinking experience seems also influenced by altitude, heat, food diet and other stuff so a global reference will vary more than a local one.
I found that my Johnny Walker green label smelled/tasted 'different' when sailing on the Nile and sitting on the Great Wall of China, and was 'odd' when I was in Havana, Cuba.
What I will do is listen carefully to the feed-back from everyone including yourself, and cool-off on the cost factor. Also, I will focus the scores a little by giving 'Blend Marks', 'Malt Marks' and 'Rum Marks' e.t.c.
Thanks again for your time on this matter & could I use our Message as a 'whisky stuff' Blog Item ?
... ralfy
Sure use it, I'd be honored. And thats a good idea, rating blends against each other would probably yield better results... have a good one!
.... and have a 'good one' too Raytownloc.
.
Sure use it, I'd be honored. And thats a good idea, rating blends against each other would probably yield better results... have a good one!
.... and have a 'good one' too Raytownloc.
.
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Wednesday, 23 September 2009
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Sunday, 13 September 2009
Saturday, 12 September 2009
Thanks folks ! ... I appreciate you all.
On Saturday 12th September
-----
50,000 views of 'Ralfystuff' Vlogs
200 Subscribers
10 hours of recording time
60 Whiskies reviewed
great feed-back .....
... great to see a growing Ladies posse !
... and all you young dudes' too !
'cos it's all
lots and lots of fun
for me to share the treasure
that is WHISKY & Stuff!
Thursday, 10 September 2009
Thursday, 3 September 2009
Friday, 28 August 2009
72b - (Recommended) Rum Results !
... A keen-listening whisky fan has pointed out that Martinique is still a dependency of France,
and as 'whiskyreviews' is here to inform rather than offend, I clarify this point now !
... cheers.
Thursday, 20 August 2009
71a - Andy @ Glencairn Crystal
.... Andy was a real sport here, with Vlogs 71a & b being a great insight into a whisky related Company.
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
70 - Adelphi Interview @ WhiskyFringe2009
.... the Gentleman that he undoubtedly is, .....Alex Bruce from Adelphi made time for a chat at WhiskyFringe2009 following a recording-disaster at Glasgow's Whisky Club Adelphi night ! where noisy Club members drowned-out our recorded conversation.
Alex is a quiet-spoken chap, so you will notice how close I hold the Cam to him to capture what he's saying.
... Some great whisky too, the Mortlach 17 was heaven!!!
Monday, 17 August 2009
Saturday, 15 August 2009
Sunday, 9 August 2009
Monday, 3 August 2009
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Friday, 17 July 2009
Saturday, 11 July 2009
Monday, 6 July 2009
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Saturday, 27 June 2009
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Sunday, 21 June 2009
Friday, 12 June 2009
Sunday, 7 June 2009
Sunday, 31 May 2009
Friday, 29 May 2009
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
Friday, 22 May 2009
Monday, 18 May 2009
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Sunday, 10 May 2009
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
Sunday, 3 May 2009
Friday, 1 May 2009
Sunday, 26 April 2009
Sunday, 19 April 2009
Monday, 13 April 2009
Saturday, 4 April 2009
Thursday, 2 April 2009
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
Saturday, 28 March 2009
Thursday, 26 March 2009
Friday, 20 March 2009
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Monday, 9 March 2009
Sunday, 8 March 2009
Whisky Reviews ............
THE BIG LIST OF AUDIO-REVIEWS ABOUT SCOTCH WHISKY.
..... BY SOMEONE WHO KNOWS.
..... BY SOMEONE WHO KNOWS.
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