021 - Reviewing Whiskey with Jay West

“I think the best way to learn about something is to think about it and write about it and try and tell other people about it because it kind of helps you gauge your own understanding.” We are in for a treat with today's guest. Some of you know him as T8ke, some of you know him from his work at Whiskeyraiders.com or the Weekly Whiskey show on Youtube - others know him from the popular /r/bourbon on Reddit and the internet's largest single barrel program. Today, we talk with the one and only Jay West all about reviewing whiskey. We hit on: Episode 230 of Bourbon Pursuit - The /r/bourbon Community of Reddit with T8ke (https://bourbonpursuit.com/2019/12/05/230-the-r-bourbon-community-of-reddit-with-t8ke/) When did you first meet the Pursuit guys and/or how has your relationship grown since you all first interacted? Immediately after the Bourbon Pursuit episode we saw the Pandemic hit - where have you seen the whiskey community go from that time? Did you see a rise in people looking for reviews on whiskey? Can you talk through your personal whiskey rating scale and maybe why it has become so widely used? (https://whiskeyraiders.com/about-t8ke/) With the abundance of reviews you see in /r/bourbon, do you find more people looking for the hyped bottles or what do you see people really excited to write about or read about? While it is true that tasting in a lot of ways is closely tied to personal experiences, and personal palates - what do you think is the importance of people who review whiskey? How do you think the general demographic of whiskey drinkers currently differ from, perhaps, the past generation whiskey drinker? What opinions do you have for the continued future? Do you think brands understand well what consumers want - and do you think they can describe the consumers expectations well?  Being very active in the Bourbon Pursuit Discord - from your perspective, how have you seen that community respond as Pursuit Spirits has taken off and grown? What things, if any, would you say people need to keep in mind when they approach a whiskey review? We also taste through Pursuit Series Episode 048 - selected for /r/bourbon (https://pursuitspirits.com/pursuit-series/episode-048/) and much more. For questions or topic requests on upcoming episodes, email us at [email protected].