...where distraction is the main attraction.

Monday, September 26, 2016

1000 Posts and 5 Years of Whisky Reviews

Going to the well for this pic one last time.
I knew I was approaching post #1000, but I'd forgotten that the fifth anniversary of my first whisky review had zipped by almost three weeks ago.  My palate has changed considerably during that time period, which is inevitable when one's sampled well over a thousand different whiskies.  The results of that experience aren't always good, in fact I miss the simple joy of just digging into and savoring ONE bottle of whisky for about a month.  I miss the prices from 5 years ago and the innocence of not fully understanding the depths of the crapulence of the major whisky producers.

At a couple of points over the years, I've written that the ratings I gave to my early reviews weren't bloated and that instead I was just finding more middling-quality whiskies then I used to.  Well, I'm here to tell you of my suspicion of that statement being partially crap.  As experience is gained things change, a palate recalibrates, and better whiskies are tried, sometimes completely resetting how one sees other whiskies.  For the whiskies I believe were scored too high, I'm attempting to obtain samples so that I may do a re-review, as I did with Tomintoul 16yo.

I've updated the About Me page, lightly, so that it is 7% less crappy.  But more importantly, I've done a complete overhaul of my Declaration of Principles.  That was way overdue as the old one had become irrelevant.

There were a few blog projects in the works that were severely delayed due to my cross-country move.  Once my office (and hopefully a wet bar!) are finished, then I will pick up where I left off with them.  This week I'll do a couple of fun single malt reports to celebrate and then get back on schedule with my regular semi-or-not-at-all-relevant reviews.  There is a good chance I may start writing about non-whisky spirits, as many other whisky bloggers have done recently, but that may not start until next year.  Gotta build up my experience a little more first.

I'll depart with just one list here.  In the process of pulling together my Top Twenty-One Most Visited Posts, I noticed most of them had been around for three or more years, gradually piling up the clicks.  So to make the list a little more relevant, I instead listed them by their average viewing per day.  Many of the same posts show up, but some more recent gems(?) make the list.  It makes me happy to see a few of my longer form posts being read!

Top Twenty-One Most Visited Posts (weighted by view per day)
1. What Was the Scotch Whisky Boom? Part 1: Value vs. Volume
2. Taste Off!!! Chivas Regal 12yr versus Johnnie Walker Black Label
3. Single Malt Report: Glenlivet 12 versus Glenfiddich 12
4. Taste-Off: Dewar's White Label vs. Johnnie Walker Red Label
5. What Was the Scotch Whisky Boom? Part 2: Single Malt Prices in the US between 2007 and 2015
6. Single Malt Report: Grangestone Double Cask
7. NOT Single Malt Report: Black & White Blended Scotch Whisky
8. A Friendly Reminder to Kill Your Whisky Gods (figuratively)
9. Scotch Ain't Dead Yet, Part 1: Export Volume and Value
10. Single Malt Report: The Macallan 18 year old Sherry Oak (w/guest reporter!)
11. WTF Is This? Shieldaig Highland Peaty Single Malt
12. NOT Single Malt Report: Famous Grouse Blended Whisky
13. Something Weird: Suntory Royal SR Japanese blended whisky (early '80s)
14. NOT Single Malt Report: Jameson Select Reserve & Jameson Select Reserve
15. NOT Single Malt Report: Lauder's Blended Scotch Whisky
16. What Was the Scotch Whisky Boom? Part 3: Plateau and Decline
17. Single Malt Report: Ardbeg Uigeadail versus Ardbeg Uigeadail
18. High West Rye Taste Off! Rendezvous Rye versus Double Rye
19. NOT Single Malt Report: Taste Off! Maker's Mark vs. Four Roses Single Barrel
20. Single Malt Report Taste Off! - GlenDronach 18 year "Allardice"
21. Whisky Observations from Japan (or Where the Hell is the Japanese Whisky?)

Thank you to all my great readers!  I'll check back with you after the next thousand posts.

No comments:

Post a Comment