The following is an overview of the
criteria that goes into the 100-point scoring system for each of the
categories:
Wine
Where the 100-point system we know
today all began.
Robert Parker Jr. began his career
reviewing wines using his 100-point system, soon thereafter adopted by Wine
Spectator. The 100-point system has had a colossal impact on the world of wine,
and specifically, the price of wine. Consumers, ourselves included, are always
intrigued by a great valued 90+ wine. First growth Bordeaux, Napa Cabarnets and
many other fine wines owe a great deal of gratitude to Parker’s scoring system,
especially following the epic 1982 Bordeaux vintage.
Given the widespread use of the
100-point system, we will be rating wines on the following criteria:
Color – 10 points
Aroma/Bouquet – 25 points
Taste/Body/Finish – 30 points
Overall Impression/Personal Preference – 35 points
Cigars
Like wine, the 100-point scoring
system dominates the world of cigar ratings. Cigar Aficionado is arguable the
world leader in reviewing and rating cigars, Cubans and non-Cubans alike.
Unlike wine, a 90+ cigar rating does not often cause spike in prices. A scoring
cigar may become harder to find in local cigar shops, but prices don’t
generally increase based on ratings.
We will be using the Cigar Aficionado system
to rate cigars we taste, based on the following criteria:
Appearance and Construction - 15 points
Flavor - 25 points
Smoking Characteristics - 25
points
Overall Impression - 35 points
Espresso
We are excited to be
reviewing espresso at Homme and Abroad. There is little to no resources that
specifically review espresso on a 100-point scale. Note: by espresso, we are
referring mainly to espresso at coffee shops/espresso bars. Based in Toronto,
Homme and Abroad will mainly review Toronto area coffee shops/espresso bars.
Our 100-point espresso
scoring system will be based on the following criteria:
Appearance – 30 points (initial impression,
crema color, viscosity)
Aroma – 20 poionts (pleasant odor, does it
smell burnt, foul, chemical?)
Taste – 50 points (chocolaty, cocoa, earthy,
bitter, sour etc.)
Spirits
Since we will be reviewing a number of drinks, including
scotch, beer, liquors etc, we decided to use very simple criteria to get to a
100-point scoring system that can be easily applied to a number of different
drinks. Our system is based on the following:
Appearance/Colour – 25 points
Aroma – 25 points
Taste – 50 points
Restaurants
Everybody
loves restaurant reviews. From the coveted 3 Michelin stars to a perfect Zagat
score, we all read about what critics think about restaurants before we ever
step foot in them. We have decided to rate restaurants, also on a 100-point
scale, because we have been to a number of restaurants all over the world and
often find ourselves disagreeing with critics. Our reviews will be scored based
on the following:
Décor/Ambiance – 10 points
Service – 25 points
Food/Cuisine – 50 points
Value for money – 15 points
Now that you have a
better understand of our criteria to rate and review a number of lifestyle
choices, we’d like to welcome you once again to Homme and Abroad.
