I would certainly consider this a pretty good dram, but what you're getting on top of that is a name and a fancy bottle. Status! STATUS!

doubt they get paid anything...i'd chalk it up to individual taste bud differences. I normally find someone here who I have similar tastes with (for me, it's Amanda Schuster ), and go with their recommendation.

I can assure you that it wasn't. We have never, and will never take payment for a favorable score. You can read all about it on our Values page - https://distiller.com/values.