Luxury Libations / Editorial reference · · 3 minute read
House methodology, not a product tasting or personal review. Our editorial standards
Name what was actually in the glass.
Begin with the producer, expression and vintage or batch where it is shown. Add the circumstances that matter: a newly opened bottle or one open for a while, water added or none, and whether food was part of the experience. You need not write a technical report. You do need to make the observation identifiable.
A category guide can introduce common reference points. It cannot tell another reader what your particular bottle tasted like. Keep those two kinds of writing separate.
Choose a few precise details.
Rather than building a long list of impressive ingredients, describe two or three features you could recognise again. Distinguish aroma from texture and finish. ‘Fresh apple on the nose, rounded in the middle, a dry finish’ gives the next reader more to work with than ‘incredible complexity’.
If a comparison escapes you, ordinary language is enough. Light, rich, drying, sharp, soft and persistent all communicate something. The point is to leave a record of attention, not to pass a vocabulary test.
Make room for uncertainty.
A first impression can change. Note that change rather than editing it out of the story. You can also say that you are unfamiliar with a style or unsure of a descriptor. Honesty makes a note more useful, not less accomplished.
A number compresses the experience; it does not explain it. In the reader ledger, a score belongs to its contributor. It is not a house rating, a consensus or evidence that every reader will feel the same way.
Publish with context.
Disclose a producer relationship, a supplied sample or another relevant connection in your note. Keep criticism specific and directed at the experience. Do not claim personal tasting if you are summarising someone else’s account.
Our ledger accepts original observations for moderation before they become public. A considered paragraph is welcome. So is a correction. The aim is a useful conversation, not an endless leaderboard.
Continue the conversation.
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