Conducting a Blind Tasting

Conducting a blind tasting takes an assortment of skills and a variety of characters. First, the skills:

1. Analytical – what do you present to the taster in order to showcase your specialty or unique opportunity?

2. Organization – how do you present the items to the taster, so all items have an equal opportunity to be tasted and evaluated?

3. Evaluation – how can the taster record and reflect on what they are tasting in order to articulate why they prefer one taste over another?

4. Presentation – How do you keep it engaging and interesting to the taster?

Now, to the characters

1. The Innovator – This person likes to “play it by ear” and prepare the tasting on the go. They typically have a passion for creating something and showing everyone how good it can be.

2. The Measurer – This person will measure every ¼ ounce using some measuring tool. They are precision oriented and need each quantity to come out the same.

3. The Planner – This person will plan the tasting down to last sip and may have a problem if the order needs to be adjusted or changed

Over the next few posts, we will evaluate these issues. Conducting a taste test is fun and engaging, but it takes a lot of work.