Review Guidelines

Hi everyone,

We're almost to 200 users, so I'd like to expand upon some of the content we have here. Namely, reviews, what a good style is, and flair.

First of all, flair is the little text box floating next to your name. Mine at the moment says 'Salted Rim' because I am not creative. If you do a review, you get flair! You get to pick whatever it says.

Now, onto the reviews:

Reviews should at minimum have a few words about what you had, how you tasted it, and your good/bad or buy/no buy rating.

A more full review would have a few notes on what the drink smelled like, tasted like, the aftertaste, and a score.

As far as score goes, I tend to take the following into account:

• How good the drink was

• How much it costs (bottle cost)

• What kind of niche it is aimed at and how it compares with others in that niche

This means that, for example, I would rate a bottom-shelf tequila like Agavales ($20 for 1.75L) higher than a top-shelf tequila like Patron (usually $40+ for 750mL) because the former is a good-tasting, 100% agave tequila that makes a very good rail or house tequila (final prognosis: way better than its niche), whereas Patron is priced double what it should be based on its quality and does not work as a top-shelf tequila in blind tasting, only in name (final prognosis: mid-shelf at top-shelf price).

If you're unsure of how to rate it, here is my usual breakdown:

• Overall quality (taste, smell, finish, smoothness, complexity) (75 / 100)

This is pretty self explanatory. Did it taste good? How good?

• Cost (10 / 100)

Cost of the bottle matters.

• Production quality (5 / 100)

Basically, whether it is 100% agave, and if so, how well the spirit is made. For example, some tequilas are made by crushing the pina with a stone wheel, others with a hydraulic press, and still others with sulfuric acid. If you don't know the details, 100% agave or not and your impression of inner quality will do.

• Niche comparison (10 / 100)

• For blanco/reposado/cheap bottles: This includes how well it works in a cocktail (5 / 10)

Again, self-explanatory; just comparing against others in the class by cost, and how well it works mixed. If it's a bottle that you wouldn't mix, then don't mix it.

• Other (packaging, rarity / 'uniqueness', giftability, and so on) (-10 to 5 / 100)

You may have noticed that the last part can go as low as -10; this is because some packaging is so horrendous I'll take off points just for how it looks. It also allows going to over 100; if you find the best tequila ever and the bottle looks great, hey, why not?

To use two of my examples of cheap tequilas:

Agavales Gold

• Taste: 60 / 75 (inoffensive)

• Cost: 7 / 10 ($12 for a bottle? not bad)

• Production quality: 100% agave, probably made on the cheap, gold is not reposado 2 / 5

• Niche comparison: favorable against most rail tequilas, but only slightly cheaper and not as good as el jimador reposado, works fine in a not very refined cocktail (read: college cocktail) 7 / 10

• Other: Nice simple square bottle shape; nothing fancy here, falls on the positive side of neutral 2 / 5

• Total: 78 / 100

El Caballo Estrella Tequila Anejo

• Taste: 58 / 75 (complex, but not actually very good)

• Cost: 5 / 10 ($19 for anejo? Yes. $19 for not that great? No.)

• Production quality: 100% agave, doesn't seem to be made that great based on the taste, but it is anejo 2 / 5

• Niche comparison: Doesn't win at the price level, doesn't win among anejos, but it is a lot more complex than anything for the price; I rate it 'interesting' which gives it a 5 / 10

• Other: Packaging is meh, but not obnoxious 0 / 5

• Total: 70 / 100

Feedback highly appreciated.