I have decided to operate under a new grading system from here on. I will be assigning every whiskey I review a grade based on how much I like the whiskey and how I judge the whiskey’s overall quality. My grades have tried not to factor in price, and I have tried to be relatively objective, but I am openly acknowledging my palate’s involvement in my grading. Anyway, here is my basic scale.
A+: This is absolutely brilliant whiskey. There is nothing I would change about it. These whiskeys are often reserved for special occasions when I am up for the finest whiskey I can get my hands on.
A: This is also brilliant whiskey. It is usually the intangibles of the whiskey that keeps it from making the A+ grade, not the structure of the whiskey itself.
A-: This is fantastic whiskey, and provides a balance between the great whiskeys and the greatest whiskeys.
B+: This is great whiskey. There may be some things I would like to see different with it, but it is a great whiskey overall.
B: This is very good whiskey, and often the range where I like my daily sipping whiskeys to be.
B-: This is good whiskey, indicating a very good effort. This also includes a lot of daily sippers.
C+, C, C-: These are all still passing grades, so they are not bad whiskeys. However, they are often whiskeys that I don’t mind other folks mixing, but I still enjoy drinking them.
D+, D, D-: These whiskeys are passing, but barely. Best suited for mixing.
F: I’ve never given a whiskey a failing grade, but if I did, it would have to be awful in every way.
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Bourbon Rankings (Taste) « Bargain Bourbon December 7th, 2012 at 02:44
[…] I have had several people ask me to provide a ranking of the bourbons I have reviewed based solely on the bourbon. Well, here are my bourbon grades. Check out my grading scale here. […]