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| THE SCOTCH WHISKY DIRECTORYCHAPTER 5: THE TASTING: WHO DID IT AND HOWThe Directory asked four highly-expert professional tasters to rate all of the Directory whiskies according to each of the Directory's fifteen flavour categories. Their judgements were analysed statistically, so that the results as presented in the Directory are about as close as you can get to an objective - or at least an inter-subjective - assessment of whisky flavours. The presentation of the data is original to the Directory. The Flavour Profiles are easy to understand. Each of the flavour classes is presented as a bar on a chart and the strength of the flavour rated on a scale of zero to ten: the higher the bar, the stronger the flavour. The unique Flavour Profile of each whisky - its Flavour Signature - shows a shape against two axes which immediately tells you how the whisky tastes. Like any other tool, you have to learn how to use it, but once learned, the technique is perfectly simple. The Directory is greatly indebted to the people who did the tasting. To them fell the greater part of the work. Each had to taste about 300 whiskies, recording the flavour sensations produced by each. (There were more whiskies than are represented in the Directory, for around fifty were duplicates. These allowed us to check the consistency of each taster's judgements. Happily, all were within respectable limits.) All of the whiskies were tasted blind and in different random orders. Jim McEwan Jim is a native of the island of Islay. He was for many years the manager of Bowmore distillery and is now in charge of the recently-resuscitated Bruichladdich distillery. Richard Paterson Richard Paterson is master blender of Whyte and Mackay and one of the leaders of the Scotch whisky industry. David Robertson David Robertson is a former manager of the Macallan distillery and presently developing some innovative products on behalf of the parent company. David Stewart David Stewart is chief blender with William Grant & Sons, the largest and most important family-owned, independent Scotch whisky maker. |