The TasteSCOT rating methodology

The four dimensions

Ratings are composite scores. Each producer is rated across four dimensions on a 1–5 scale. The headline rating is the average rounded to one decimal place. Where a producer page shows a rating breakdown grid, you can see each dimension scored individually.

1. Flavour

Blind or sighted tasting against direct competitors at the same price band. For distilleries we score the spirit; for breweries the core range; for gin brands the flagship serve. Consistency across releases counts more than peak-bottle brilliance — a producer whose 12-year-old is always good scores higher than one whose limited release was sublime and whose core range is patchy.

2. Value

Price relative to what’s in the bottle, not relative to the brand’s marketing tier. A £45 Speyside that drinks like a £30 one loses marks; a £30 one that drinks like a £45 gains them. We track UK retail prices monthly and re-score when prices shift materially.

3. Availability

Can a normal UK drinker actually buy the core expressions? Allocation-only, duty-free-only, and ballot-released bottles are deprioritised in the rating — a whisky you can’t buy isn’t much use to a reader, however good the liquid. Supermarket-distributed core expressions score higher in this dimension than online-only specialist-retailer-only releases.

4. Experience

For producers open to visitors: the quality of the visit — tour, tap room, hospitality, value-for-money on tour pricing. For closed sites (warehouses, blender’s distilleries, silent producers): this dimension is weighted out and the headline rating is the average of the remaining three.

Category-specific criteria

Distilleries (whisky)

Flavour measured across the core range, with regional context (we don’t mark down an Islay 10 for not being a Speyside). Sherry-cask and unpeated styles scored within their own category. Value at the £25–60 entry band where most readers buy. Availability measured by core-expression presence in major UK retailers (supermarkets and The Whisky Exchange). Experience for open distilleries: tour quality, booking friction, value-for-money. The headline rating typically reflects the distillery’s core range more than its premium / one-off releases.

Breweries (beer)

Flavour across the core range with style context — cask-led brewers aren’t marked down for not making pastry sours. Value at pint and 4-pack retail. Availability via supermarket presence, independent off-trade, and the brewery’s own online shop reliability. Experience tap room, brewery tour, festival programme, on-site food and dog/family policy.

Gin brands

Flavour served neat and with the brand’s recommended tonic. Botanicals are tasted blind for character. Premium category context applies — we don’t mark down a £25 contemporary gin for not being Hendrick’s. Value at supermarket and online price. Availability through Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, specialist retailers. Experience if the brand offers a distillery visit; otherwise weighted out.

Cider producers

Flavour across the core range, scored against UK cider competition rather than only Scottish ciders (it’s a small Scottish category). Value, availability, and experience as standard.

Seafood species

Species pages aren’t producer reviews — they’re editorial guides to a fish or shellfish. They don’t carry a TasteSCOT rating in the distillery/brewery sense. They do carry a Marine Conservation Society sustainability rating (1–5, separate scoring system) — see the explainer on each species page.

Who rates

The TasteSCOT editorial team. Currently a small operation — Gary Innes is the primary editor and taster, with occasional guest contributors named in their articles. No outsourced reviews, no AI-generated tasting notes, no community star averages dressed up as editorial scores.

Independence

We don’t accept review samples in exchange for guaranteed coverage. When a producer has provided a bottle or paid for our entry to a tour, we disclose it on the relevant page. We don’t accept brand-paid placements or sponsored reviews — see the editorial policy and affiliate disclosure for the full version.

How often ratings are reviewed

Each producer page has a Last updated stamp showing the most recent review. We aim for a full review of every rated producer at least annually. Substantial events — change of ownership, change of head brewer/distiller, major release that materially shifts the core range — trigger an out-of-cycle review.

If you disagree with a rating

We’re wrong sometimes. If you think a rating is off — too high or too low — email editorial@tastescot.co.uk with the producer name and your reasoning. Producers themselves are welcome to challenge ratings the same way. We won’t change a score because you’ve asked, but we will revisit if your reasoning surfaces something we missed.