Why do you care?

[DonutsNBourbon]

as others have said, it's just like reading a movie review.  you wanna know if it's worth your time/money before you actually go there to see it or if you should see something else.  some bourbon has quite the high entry fee so I'd like to know what I'm getting into before paying a high price.  Especially now with quite a few distilleries putting out "premium" releases that cost north of $50.  obviously, you always have to take the review with a grain of salt, but at least it can help point you in the right direction.

Edited February 18, 2016 by DonutsNBourbon

[Tony Santana]

Like others have said, I use reviews for guidance.  The positive adjectives might steer me in the right direction toward a purchase, or conversely prompt me to avoid a pricey pour that doesn't seem to add up.  Ultimately taste is my guide if I get a chance to sample (smaller bottles would be a great idea).  If I don't like it, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, glowing reviews aren't going to make me want to drink it.  

Plus, I just like to read about whiskey.

[dSculptor]

On ‎2‎/‎17‎/‎2016‎ ‎12‎:‎50‎:‎08‎, mosugoji64 said:

I'm interested in hearing what others with whom I share tastes in whiskey have to say about something I've not tried. Otherwise I couldn't care less.

I'll second that.

[PaulO]

Living here in South central Indiana, I'm about 100 miles North of Louisville.  We're almost the last place to get anything new.  The coasts and big cities get new releases way before us.  That means people like Chuck and a number of other people at this site give me a heads up that something is on its way (and what they think).  I also learn that brands are being changed/discontinued while the older stock may still be hanging around.     

Edited February 20, 2016 by PaulO

[BourbonGuy]

On ‎2‎/‎17‎/‎2016‎ ‎12‎:‎32‎:‎08‎, cowdery said:

Why do you care what a bunch of other people think about how a whiskey tastes when all you have to do is taste it yourself? If a tasting panel likes something and you don't, are you wrong? Should you stop drinking it?

Whiskey reviews are fun to read, at least I enjoy them.  The reason I read them, is I may not be able to taste a certain whiskey for myself due to cost or availability.   So there is always the curiosity factor.

 However, to your point, I would never stop drinking a whiskey I enjoy due to a review.    I have tried whiskey based on a review.  If I agree, I may buy another (different recommendation) based on that reviewer.  If I do not agree I am less likely to buy another.  What 

Unfortunately I don't have an unlimited whiskey budget.  So if I am sticking with a known favorite, no issue.  If I want to try something new (and who doesn't) I try to do is find a reviewer that seems to align with my taste.  Hopefully this makes sense.

 

 

[squire]

On 2/16/2016, 11:32:08, cowdery said:

Why do you care what a bunch of other people think about how a whiskey tastes when all you have to do is taste it yourself? . . . .

It's fun to live vicariously through the writings of others (Michael Jackson's World Guide to Whisky back in the 80s was an eye opener for me) but in the end it comes down to what we individually like.  More years ago than I than I can count on fingers and toes (twice) I first tasted Old Grand Dad and still like it.

Other than self producers are there really that many "new" whiskies out there?  Isn't sourced MGP essentially the same stuff under different fru-fru labels?  Or using the MGP base have some producers created a sum of parts blend that's worth seeking out? 

Well, we won't know will we, unless we read about it.

 

[zeeck]

I love reading or talking with other people about what they think about a whiskey that I've tried.  It's interesting to see what some people like and don't like and the variance in tastes.  One of my best whiskey drinking buddies has completely different tastes than I do, so we're constantly swapping samples of stuff we weren't fond of, figuring the other may really enjoy it.

Plus, I don't have an unlimited supply of disposable income, so I like seeing what others think of whiskies before I make my purchasing decision.  If something regularly gets good reviews, I'm more apt to spend my money on that than I am on something that regularly gets poor reviews.  Just trying to increase my odds of not spending my money on a clunker.

 

[Harry in WashDC]

As Tony said, I like reading about whiskey.  Also, comments made over time by people who have tried lots of whiskeys, like on the BOTM threads or on LE threads, are helpful to me.  I didn't become serious about bourbon until some of my favorites started being hard to find.  Reading LOTS of comments helped me decide which "replacement" offerings to try first.  And while it is true that, other than some small producers, there aren't too many "new" bourbons,  there are variations that, without reading comments by others, I might have missed.  The change from 8YR to Double aged for JB Black being a really good example.  If a commenter hadn't noted that somebody at Beam told him on a tour that it likely is about 5-6 years instead of 8 now, I wouldn't have known why my new bottles tasted a little off.  Turns out it's just an age thing.  RE: MGP (disclosure, I bought stock in it back when they were losing money and MGT was turning over rapidly - which just goes to show that American whiskey CAN be good for you): I like what some (certainly not all) NDPs have done with their basic products.  For example, Smooth Ambler's Old Scout 7 is still wonderful after all these years; somebody there knows how to blend barrels AND sell the product at under $40 a 750ml.  That, IMO, is worth telling other geeks about.  Finally, I am constantly surprised when reading others' thoughts on whiskey.  For example, the new Pikesville Rye @ 110 proof had, for me, creamy bourbon notes.  One of the posters here pointed out that it is just barely a rye - lots of corn in its mash bill which I hadn't bothered to look up - and suggested I do a SBS with barrel strength Redemption @ 95% rye.  I did.  Reading about the mash bills was an "Oh, yeah" moment.  Tasting the difference was an "Oh, WOW!" moment.

And, don't get me started on bottled waters.  I've been reading about THEM for years - ever since my cocktail phase which overlapped my port phase which overlapped with my beer phase which . . .

Edited February 20, 2016 by Harry in WashDC

[B.B. Babington]

9 hours ago, zeeck said:

...  Just trying to increase my odds of not spending my money on a clunker.

 

Clunkers are educational, too.  You learn what it is you don't like, and maybe why.  And taking a gamble, one might find a new favorite.

[r60slash5]

I like reading other peoples reviews. I will buy a bottle based on a good review, but the second bottle or more is based on my taste. Fortunately from following reviews I has helped me accumulate a nice bunker for my taste, but these days I find myself holding on to my bunker, and connoisseuring the bottom shelf. 

 

Ted

[shoshani]

The thing about reviews nowadays is that there's so damn many of them that you can easily pick up a consensus. You may not agree with any or all of them, of course, taste being subjective; however, if a given whiskey is spoken nicely about by four or five reviewers, the distillery may be on to something.

I started with books, back in the 90s, when there were maybe half a dozen writers (if!) whose books got any reasonable traction or distribution. One writer in particular I loved, even though I often disagreed with his assessments, because he was cranky and did not shy away from panning a whiskey he didn't like - something unheard of in any other writers' books that I had. 

But there are quite a few enthusiastic, knowledgeable sites that review both new releases and old standbys. When they describe flavor notes such as caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, acetone, turpentine, or whatever, your own sensory memory will kick in and you'll have a better guide toward narrowing down the field and getting what you really want. That, to me, is the value of reviews.