FAQ
Q What is Rum Raiders?
A: Rum Raiders is a feature rich platform that aggregates and reports on rums from around the globe. Rum Raiders summarizes how each rum performs according to various experts across the internet, including our own, by providing a single aggregated score or “Raiding.” Not unlike other aggregate review sites (think movies or video games) – Rum Raiders provides all of the information you need to know about a rum in one place, with the opportunity to dig deeper into each of the scores.
Q Why does the world of rum need Rum Raiders?
A: Compared to other spirit/drinks categories (think wine, beer) the world of rum online is heavily fragmented. It’s hard to quickly find a single venue with concrete, reliable information about each rum – especially new bottlings and exciting, fresh releases. Rum Raiders brings trusted reviews from across the internet, the insight of our in house rum critics, and more together to provide a single resource when you’re hunting for your next bottle of rum , or reading about new releases. Every aggregate is linked to its original sources as well, so it’s easy to start at Rum Raiders and then read the full thoughts of each of the trusted sources as time and interest allows.
Q What determines the Raider Score?
A: The Raided Score is Rum Raiders aggregate scoring, made up of the reviews of trusted and notable critics across the internet. Our in-house rating will often be one of the scores factored in equally with the others. The rum world is chock full of authors, personalities and publications that report on rum. The Raider Score embodies two main components – conversion and averaging.
Since every publication across the internet uses a different rating scale, we have first converted their rating to an in house equivalent on a 0-100 scale. It’s never going to be perfect but we feel it does offer apples to apples comparisons. Once each publication score is converted (see metrics below), the results are averaged, and an aggregated score is provided for each rum. This Raided Score can continue to trend up and down – especially for new releases – as each source weighs in and posts reviews. A minimum quantity of aggregate reviews is required before a score is displayed, to ensure statistical integrity.
Q How are ratings converted to the Raided Score?
A: See the Rum Raiders rating rubric here:
| School Grade | 0-5 | 0-10 | Raided Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| A+ | 5.0 | 10 | 100 |
| A | 4.5 | 9 | 96 |
| A- | 4.0 | 8 | 91 |
| B+ | 3.5 | 7 | 88 |
| B | 3.0 | 6 | 85 |
| B- | 2.5 | 5 | 82 |
| C+ | 2.0 | 4 | 77 |
| C | 1.5 | 3 | 72 |
| C- | 1.0 | 2 | 65 |
| D | 0.5 | 1 | 60 |
| F | 0 | 0 | 50 |
Q How does the House Review scale work?
A: Our House Reviews are based on Jay’s unique scale. Annoyed that the spirits industry commonly doesn’t use enough of the rating scale, with scores often saturating the 86-93 range, he set out to create his own. Using 1-10 with full integer intervals, each value in the t8ke scoring scale expresses qualities about a rum (good or bad) and it’s being widely adopted across the internet.
Q Aggregating all of these different scores seems pretty tough! Is this the final scoring model?
A: No. Definitely not. There are so many scales, and all of our aggregates rate very differently. Our team continues to work on our grading model and our conversions to ensure that we’re representing every spirit in the most balanced manner to our readers.
Q How are cost icons determined at Rum Raiders?
A: We ensure to represent the gamut of rum MSRPs through a common metric.
- $: $1-$13.99
- $$: $14-$29.99
- $$$: $30-$49.99
- $$$$: $50-$79.99
- $$$$$: $80+
Q Why do some reviews have no House Review?
A: Occasionally, other reviews may launch before we have an opportunity for our in house critic to review. We always want to bring you the most up to date content, so we’ll aggregate as many reviews as possible – even if our expert hasn’t tried it yet.
Q Why do some reviews only have a House Review?
A: Oftentimes, rum distribution and sales aren’t the same in one part of the country as another. As such, we’ve tried hundreds of single barrels that many others have not. In this case, you can read our full house review and it’s rating, although other sources may not have reviewed that bottle – which explains why, in some cases, you’ll see a House Review, but no Aggregate Review.
Q Why aren’t there more 100’s?
A: Rum Raiders is tough on rum, especially our in house critic. So when examining our ratings, keep in mind that we have a tough grading system. Mid 90’s are very rare, and any score in the 90’s is a big win for a rum.
Q Who does Rum Raiders aggregate from?
A: Rum Raiders has selected what we view as some of the best writers, palates and critics in the rum world. When you are doing a deeper dive on a rum, we strongly encourage readers to click onto their sites to read the full reviews. After all, a number is never nearly as valuable as reading a thorough review with tasting notes. You can regularly expect to see the reviews of these sites aggregated: