Q: What about 7?

Q&A
Written By Robyn Smith, PhD
 

Why can’t I use 7 to score the whiskey during a NEAT tasting?

A: If you’ve done a tasting with me, you’ll know that I ask you to rate the whiskeys 1-10, but you can’t use 7.

It’s been a bit controversial. Some participants hate that they can’t give a whiskey a 7. But I stand by it because it tells you what you really think of the whiskey. I got this scoring system from Tim Ferriss who got it from Kyle Maynard. Kyle started using this as a way to evaluate potential employees after interviews, business deals, invitations to events, etc. He found that when you commit to something that you ranked a 7, you’re doing it out of obligation or FOMO. You aren’t actually excited about it. When you rate a whiskey a 7, you’re not really committing to liking it or disliking it. But if you rank it an 8, you’re excited about it, probably going to seek it out and willing to drive across town for it. Giving a whiskey a 6 is not great. That’s not to say you won't drink it and appreciate it if it’s what’s available at a bar, party or liquor store. I have plenty of 6’s on my shelves that I gladly sip and enjoy. Hell, I even think Blanton’s is a 6. Many may shutter at that statement, but I have a very crude ranking system and even though I quite enjoy Blanton’s, it’s not good enough for me to rank it an 8. A 6 is not a whiskey you would pay an inflated price for (cough cough allocated bourbons). But if you see a 6 on sale while at the grocery store, maybe you’ll toss it into the cart.

Ultimately, how you score your whiskey is up to you and I won’t hold it against you if you need to use 7 (just don’t tell me). 

 
 

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Robyn Smith, PhD

I earned my PhD in chemical engineering, more specifically studying the kinetics of heterogeneous catalytic reactions. For the last two years I was the research chemist at a high tech distillery in Los Angeles, CA leading the R&D. I have experience creating rums, brandies and whiskeys at both bench top and production scales. I’m also a crossfitter, bodybuilder and strongfitter. 

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