For the last decade or so, I have been an online reviewer of LED flashlights. As you will see on my flashlightreviews.ca website, I have performed many hundreds of detailed reviews focusing on quantitative analyses of flashlight performance. These include calibrated output measures, continuous runtime analyses, and circuit oscilloscope measures – along with overall descriptions of build, use, and design.

As you can probably guess from these reviews, I have a scientific research background. I have had training in quantitative methods for my PhD in the health research field, and am currently employed as a professional in my industry. As a “hobby”, I enjoy doing comparative analyses in areas of personal interest (which currently includes scotch-style whiskies). Of course, integral to any analysis is communication – findings ways to clearly present findings in a way that people find useful. That’s what I hope to do here on whiskyanalysis.com.

One of drivers for my flashlight testing is to provide fair and honest comparative assessments – as an aid to allowing readers to choose a model that was right for them. I feel there remains a strong need in that field, given how often manufacturer claims continue to far exceed actual performance/capabilities. Even in a field rife with quantitative performance metrics, you really need comparative testing data collected under the same conditions, in the same manner, for all lights.

My ultimate goal here is similar, but the methods have changed (and it some ways, the needs as well). I want to provide you with a simple way to help you choose your next whisky – based on your personal preference. There is a similar problem in the whisky world as there is with flashlights, given all the marketing and hype that surrounds whisky production and sale. But in some ways, the need is even greater here, given the subjective nature of taste. And unfortunately, even well-meaning enthusiasts have further muddied the waters, by perpetuating myths and fictions that were specifically created to mislead the whisky drinker.

In my professional life, I have a lot of experience in trying to integrate expert scores and opinions for establishing consensus views. I am drawing upon that expertise in developing the methods for whisky reviewer integration here. There is a lot to demystify, so I will need to take quite a few detours when discussing all the potential confounds, biases and limitations of the analysis methods. But the point remains – I am doing the analyses so that you don’t have to. The goal is to arm you with the information you need, to help you make an informed decision on your next dram. This will be based on a rigorous assessment of the evidence, using well established scientific (statistical) methods.

The site is not about encouraging alcohol consumption. If you think you may have a problem with alcohol, please visit this health resource. For more guidance on finding and getting help, please visit here.

Sláinte!
Eric
selfbuilt@whiskyanalysis.com

P.S.: As always, I provide this resource free of charge – with no ads of any sort. If you would like to contribute to the maintenance and upkeep of this site and analysis (or buy me a dram!), please feel to donate to the cause at Paypal.me/selfbuilt or through the Paypal Donate button below: