Rating guide
The five ratings
| Rating | Range |
|---|---|
| Mediocre | 0–79 |
| Good | 80–84 |
| Very good | 85–89 |
| Outstanding | 90–94 |
| Unicorn | 95–100 |
Pick the rating that describes the whole whisky. The same five choices on every tasting make bottles easier to compare.
Old star ratings
Peated used stars before the current five ratings. We converted the saved stars like this: ¼–2 becomes Mediocre; 2¼–3 becomes Good; 3¼–4 becomes Very good; 4¼–4½ becomes Outstanding; and 4¾–5 becomes Unicorn.
A saved zero meant Not rated, so it stays unrated. We keep the original stars on the tasting.
Writing a review
- 01
Taste first
Notice what stands out before you think about a number. - 02
Start at 80
An 80 is good: enjoyable, well made, and without a major problem. - 03
Move the score
Judge the whisky as a whole. There are no points to add up.
- Move up for
- Clear flavors, parts that work together, texture with depth, or a finish that lasts.
- Move down for
- Off flavors, rough alcohol, thin texture, poor balance, or a finish that stops short.
Keep price, rarity, packaging, and reputation out of it.
How a bottle score is worked out
We put the review scores in order and use the middle one. With an even number of scores, we use the lower of the middle two. The word beside the score matches its range. A score of 91 is Outstanding.
Review sites use different scales. We keep each original score and link to its review. When a site's scoring guide gives us enough information, Peated also works out a score out of 100.
Each critic review says whether its score is used. Reviews without a usable score or a saved comparison are left out. Whole-number scores out of 100 are used unless the site is excluded or its saved settings say otherwise.
On a bottle page, the bar groups member and critic scores with tastings in the same five ranges. If a bottle has tastings but no review score, its middle tasting sets the rating. Peated shows the full range instead of an exact score.