How we assess producers and products

What our profiles are built on

For each producer or product, we report what we can stand behind:

• The facts: range, current prices, ABV, age statements, and — where it is publicly documented — who actually distils or makes it.
• Value: price relative to what is in the bottle and to comparable named products, including price per unit of alcohol via our whisky value calculator. A £45 Speyside that sells like a £30 one is poor value; a £30 one that competes with £45 bottles is good value.
• Independent awards: medals from competitions such as the IWSC, the International Spirits Challenge and the Scotch Whisky Masters, which are judged blind by professional panels. Where we point to quality, that is the evidence we lean on — not a score of our own.
• Availability: whether a normal UK drinker can actually buy the core expressions, rather than allocation-only or duty-free-only releases.

How we describe character

Where a page describes how a product tastes — a gin’s botanical signature, a distillery’s house style — that reflects the product’s documented, widely agreed profile and the makers’ own published notes. It is not a first-hand TasteSCOT blind tasting, unless a page explicitly says we tasted it. When we do publish a hands-on review, we say so plainly and describe how it was done.

Seafood sustainability

Seafood species pages are editorial guides to a fish or shellfish, not producer reviews. They carry a Marine Conservation Society sustainability rating (1–5) — a genuine third-party rating from the MCS, not ours — explained on each species page.

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 we update profiles

Each producer page has a Last updated stamp showing the most recent check. We aim to refresh every producer profile at least annually. Substantial events — change of ownership, change of head brewer/distiller, a major release that materially shifts the core range, or a price move — trigger an out-of-cycle update.

If you think we’ve got something wrong

We’re wrong sometimes. If a price is out of date, a fact is off, or you think our read on a producer misses something, email editorial@tastescot.co.uk with the producer name and your reasoning. Producers are welcome to challenge anything we’ve written the same way. We won’t change a view just because we’ve been asked, but we will revisit if your reasoning surfaces something we missed.