I always take the results from whiskey competitions with a huge grain of salt. I have been a judge on some of these competitions and I know what they are like. They usually consist of a day or two of flights of whiskey, some flights having five or more whiskeys. There may be ten or twelve flights in a day. They tell the judges that they should judge these whiskeys on a 1-100 scale and not score any of them below 80. 

Now the reasons I don’t trust the results are many. The first thing is the scoring. On a scale of 1-100, 55 is the average score. If you have an average whiskey in the competition, it should score between 55 and 65. The scale should go up from there with only exceptional whiskeys getting a 90 or above score. The next reason is the number of flights judged in a day and the size of these flights. Palate fatigue sets in after about ten whiskeys, so the first flight is the only flight that is judged fairly in my opinion. You need to sip a whiskey to get the finish, so spitting is not an option for a fair judgement. The finish is important and many great whiskeys finish better than they would if you spit. Finally, there are the ending awards. Almost every whiskey is awarded a gold medal with silver medals being a “Thank You for participating” medal. 

I have never liked rating whiskey and I don’t do it myself on my website. When Matt and I taste, we rarely taste more than four whiskeys. After that we feel our palates need a rest to get a fair tasting. Palate fatigue in these competitions usually means the lower proof whiskeys don’t get a fair tasting as it takes a higher proof to overcome the numbness of the taste buds. By the end of a long day of tasting 80 or more whiskeys, you are numb to the subtle tastes to be found in the whiskey.

Whiskey competitions serve a purpose. They give whiskeys a chance to earn accolades that they can brag about in advertising. However, I take these accolades with a huge portion of skepticism.