OK, why is there a scoring system? In the grand scheme of things this blog may just be a record that I can look up in a pub or shop when decided what cider to choose. So why not find a way to measure each cider against each other, rather than just arbitrarily choose?
Well, as of 2011 no-one was doing this for cider. Sure – wine, beer, whisky – they all had people who ranked and judged them. So I ‘borrowed’ from a couple of respected organisations; CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) and the IWSC (International Wine and Spirits Competition) to set up a system of scoring which is both simple and consistent.
Firstly, CAMRA’s ‘Beer Tasting Card’ has been borrowed (thanks CAMRA!) and adapted to more appropriately fit with cider. Its not going to be perfect but it seems to work pretty well. One of the changes is to make it fit with a score out of 100 – with character and overall style scoring more heavily to reflect their importance (to me).
Faults with cider are recorded and can reduce a score. Whilst commercially available cider should not have faults, cider is a living thing and whilst it may have been in perfect condition when bottled/bagged lots can change it – how it is stored etc. Also, some people like certain faults or, as in the case of mouse, cannot detect it at all.
This scoring out of 100 allows it to fit with the IWSC’s ‘Medals’ system, where drinks are scored out of 100 and the best are awarded a 'medal'. This has also been borrowed (thanks IWSC), changed to an apple... and no, recipients only get a picture on here. This is not an official award!
The awards are as follows:
The awards are as follows:
80 - 89.9 - Silver
70 - 79.9 - Bronze
Why? Well, this way ciders can be 'tagged' and, if I wanted to buy a bunch of cider that are really good - I can just search for 'gold' ciders.
And there you have it. Is it foolproof? No. Is it subjective? Yes. Is it in any way an official acknowledgement of achievement? No. Is it only a rough guide? Thats the whole point!