The Big Score

Working as a Scotch specialist in a high-end wine retailer, I have a tendency to treat single-malts like wine, and why not, they have a lot in common.  Both are alcoholic beverages; the subject of connoisseurship; and have a fierce, loyal following that absolutely love these beverages.  True, the same could be said for Cognac, Tequila, or Bourbon, yet the one unique aspect shared by both wine and Scotch is the same that has me the most worried: the 100 point scale.

To say that the 100 point scale has had an effect on the wine is about as big an understatement as anyone could ever make in my industry.  Originally developed by the wine critic Robert M. Parker Jr. in his publication, The Wine Advocate, the 100 point scale quickly struck a chord with consumers who felt unconfident in selecting a wine yet still demanded a high quality wine for their cash.  Over the last decade or so, the scale has exploded, becoming less of a selection guide, and more of a requirement.  Today, scores affect the way we drink wine, they way we sell wine, and  the way we make wine.  Every day I receive customer requests for wines with a minimum score without any specifications to taste or style; even when personally attesting to the quality of a wine, if the score is below 90, the customer opts for something else.  This is a big problem.  For starters, in my opinion Parker has specific tastes—just as we all do.  He focuses on more concentrated, extracted and rich wines, often awarding high scores year-in year-out to those which most aptly fit his palate.  Now, because his scores often determine what consumers drink, winemakers all over the world have begun abandoning older, more traditional and regional styles in favor of wines that tailored to Parker’s specific tastes.  This ultimately reduces the amount of choice we have as consumers as more and more wines gravitate to a single style.  There is even a name for it: Parkerization.  Creepy, huh?

These thoughts have been buzzing around din my head over the last couple of weeks, as I’ve been trying to incorporate Scotch scores into our display tags at the shop.  But in doing so, not only have I questioned the necessity and affects of scores, but also the difference roles that wine scores and Scotch scores play.  For starters, Scotch scores tend to be much more conservative that those of their wine counterparts.  I have never come across a single-malt scored 100 points by any critic; I have rarely seen anything ninety-five or above, in fact.  Most of my favorites single-malts hover around the 86-91 range, whereas in wine often 90 points is the minimum score for a purchase. 

There is also a big difference in who is responsible for these scores.  In wine, Parker’s scores alone reign supreme.  Other publications such as Wine Spectator and critic Steven Tanzer have followed in suit to some extent, but no score holds as much austerity and influence as Parker’s. Yet Scotch scores, although originally popularized by the late Scotch critic Michael Jackson, are much more diverse and varied.  There is no single entity that has the power and control over their industry that Parker does.  The Malt Maniacs, twenty-four self proclaimed masters of Scotch whisky have published nearly 10,000 Scotch scores online, yet most are average scores from multiple tasters.  Also unlike wine, I see far more amateurs rating Scotch for their own records rather than a few authoritative critics giving end-all scores.

The biggest problem with wine scores is that we’ve put all our eggs into the figurative basket: consumers have put their faith into a single source that clearly has its short-comings.  This faith has started a movement to change the way we choose wine and in turn, the way wine is made—and this movement is headed in a single direction.  What I like about Scotch scores is the absence of a figurehead.  The hundreds, if not thousands of individuals who rating Scotch today do so on their terms—for their needs.  Further, although Scotch is often made to suit different geographic palates, I can’t imagine any distillery currently altering production to fit the tastes of any specific critic.  You’re more likely to see groups like PLOWED and Malt Maniacs releasing bottlings from purchased casks that represent their tastes rather than Laphroaig stooping to please a critic.  It’s just not gonna happen.   Yet, we just need to be collectively careful about how much faith we have in scores, and remember that they are always a guide, never an absolute.