Do reviewers get honey barrels?

[MauiSon]

IMHO, a free bottle will always taste better than a bought bottle from the same barrel. There's a psychological barrier that is breached by a gift.

When it comes to EW1B, I doubt a huge number of barrels have been vetted when the 1st barrel is released. Perhaps 100 out of the 1000+ for the vintage. So, a good barrel may have been selected, but it's very unlikely to be the best.

[White Dog]

Honestly? Who better to voice a contrary opinion, than Cowdery? We KNOW he drinks weller and vw products on a regular basis, and we KNOW that he likes them. So when he says (and he HAS said this) "the current Lot B is much tastier than it was several years ago," I trust that statement because I know his flavor preference, AND I know that he's tried more than one "sample" of the given whiskey (wich immediately disproves the theory that reviewers are full of crap because they all have tried only the one sample that the distillery sent them.)


Additionally, if you've read Bourbon, Straight, than you know that Chuck's reviews are fairly devoid of "this is terrible whiskey" and "this is great whiskey." he clearly and concisely states that perhaps his favorite whiskey ever, is Very Old Fitz, and when he reviews other whiskeys, he simply describes them and talks about value. Quite frankly, exactly the kind of review that some of you really want (which is why you read all the threads on this site in the first place, to get an idea of the "vaule" of a whiskey from a group of people you consider your peers and trust.)

I have read the book, I respect his reviews, I respect his opinion of numerical scores, but I also expect a defense of Hansell. And Cowdery's own statements on score reviews would defend the position that any review may be flawed, including his own "testing of the theory."

[ErichPryde]

People who have nothing to hide should have no fear of disclosure.

Sorry squire, about quoting your above: I misunderstood. I thought you were responding to SMOWK'S post, but in fact you were simply responding to the thread. But to address the quote I just quoted you on (), you really think so? In a completely open and fair society, that may be true. Are you telling me that corporate america, capitalism, is fair? Every business trying to sell something has something to hide anyway.... I don't want you to know the recipe I use to make my soft drink, or the exact nature of my gentle-ear-pasta in a bourbonese sauce con brocolli.

[ErichPryde]

IMHO, a free bottle will always taste better than a bought bottle from the same barrel. There's a psychological barrier that is breached by a gift.

There may be some truth here, but it's the reviewer's job. It stops being a gift when you get it every single day and then you have to laboriously type some drivel on a computer screen for ninteen hours straight.

I have read the book, I respect his reviews, I respect his opinion of numerical scores, but I also expect a defense of Hansell. And Cowdery's own statements on score reviews would defend the position that any review may be flawed, including his own "testing of the theory."

What's with the hatred for Hansell? Cowdery didn't defend him, he said that because he had tasted various whiskeys, he believed that the assertion of this thread, the spirit, if you will (no pun intended) was false.

[White Dog]

There may be some truth here, but it's the reviewer's job. It stops being a gift when you get it every single day and then you have to laboriously type some drivel on a computer screen for ninteen hours straight.



What's with the hatred for Hansell? Cowdery didn't defend him, he said that because he had tasted various whiskeys, he believed that the assertion of this thread, the spirit, if you will (no pun intended) was false.

What hate? I simply agree with the premise that Hansell's soaring reviews of EW1b, while having integrity, lack a certain credibility due to barrel variation, regardless of how many barrels HH has to choose from, and how good Parker and Craig may be at choosing. Why doesn't HH send him barrel number 2, 3 or 5? Barrels do vary, we all know this, and to write it off as conspiracy theory ignores that fact.

[Halifax]

Ok, I give the latest EW1B a 100.

Your shelf talkers should do well, and earn you a seat at the table...

[MauiSon]

It stops being a gift when you get it every single day and then you have to laboriously type some drivel on a computer screen for ninteen hours straight.

Does it? I doubt it. I doubt it all. "Get it every single day", "have to laboriously type some drivel for 19 hours straight', I just doubt those phrases apply to any reviewers.

[ErichPryde]

And you might be right, especially given my obvious gross exaggeration. but how many reviews do the reviewers write in a year? I can't speak for Hansell because I don't follow his publications often, but Murray's whiskey bible contains thousands of whiskey reviews and scores, and they all read pretty much like they were written by the same person. Assuming that he updates even only 1,000 whiskeys in a given year, that's an average of two to three reviews every single day. How many total reviews WERE in the last whiskey bible? And how much spitting is done? Do they feel like drinking whiskey to wind down at the end of the day, and if so, what? I'm getting sidetracked, but what DOES Hansell drink to wind down at the end of a day? I think some of us have this perception that the reviewers get a whole bottle of Sazerac 18 year to drink all by themselves and then spend a week with the whiskey before writing an overblown and too-opulent review of the whiskey. I don't see that happening, either. The truth must be somewhere between.

[squire]

SERIOUSLY Erik? I can't be serious and drink whisky at the same time. That sort of thing will get you to propose marriage or something.

[cowdery]

For the record, I said current Lot B is as good as ever and remains one of my favorites. I never said it's better than it used to be. I also haven't said anything about John Hansell and see no reason to. John and I don't agree about everything but we've known each other for 20 years and I've never known him to be insincere about anything.

I'm not being dismissive of this idea. I'm taking it seriously and saying that in my opinion, based on my knowledge and experience, it has no merit.

But what do I know? I'm just a lying shill who talks out his ass and who's too drunk on free whiskey to know it.