The Sipp’n Corn Scale 2.0 – No more “value” considerations.

I’ve been pondering revisions to my scale for some time now, and I appreciate the feedback on Twitter about whether, or how to, include my opinion on value in ratings. In the past few years, I’ve reduced ratings of some high-priced Bourbon and I’ve increased a rating or two because the Bourbon was so refreshingly inexpensive or because it was lightyears better than Bourbon costing two or three times more.

Retail markets can vary pretty wildly on price, though, which reduces the usefulness of my adjustments for whatever I was lucky (or unlucky) enough to pay by virtue of living in Bourbon Country. Plus, the secondary market has skewed value, and flippers have made finding some brands on the shelf at retail prices a rarity.

To top it off, my use of a value component is more subjective than my palate, so I’ve decided to remove it from the rating. I’ll continue to comment on my personal opinion of value, but since everyone has their own price threshold and comfort level regardless of quality, my scoring will no longer include my perception of value.

So here’s version 2.0 of the Sipp’n Corn Scale:

The Sipp’n Corn Scale:

1 – Swill. I might dump the bottle, but will probably save it for my guests who mix with Coke.

2 – Hits the minimum criteria, but given a choice, I’d rather have something else.

3 – Solid Bourbon with only minor shortcomings. Glad to own and enjoy.

4 – Excellent Bourbon. Need to be hyper-critical to find flaws. I’m lucky to have this.

5 – Bourbon perfection. I’ll search high and low to get another bottle of this.