Posted by Elliott on Saturday, Jun 25th, 2016
Starting a few years ago we allowed our members to select "Best For" themes in addition to their regular ratings and tasting notes. Many a chuckle has been had over what spirits were best for "Wound Sanitizing" or "Breakfast", and we've often discussed additional themes that should be added to our tasting app. Now, after 2909 "Best For" theme ratings, we're ready to change them up a bit.
With all that good data, an analysis was in order. One of my lurking suspicions was that some of our categories were too similar, and were losing meaning as a result.
- Most used theme: Leather Armchair (384 times)
- Least used theme: Watching Sports (108 times)
After gathering counts of each theme, I then looked at the overlap by tabulating the counts of each theme with each other theme from the same taster and spirit. Some interesting patterns arose among the themes with the highest overlap:
- 36% of tasting notes with a selection of Best for Around a Campfire also had a selection of Best For With a Cigar while 40% of tasting notes with a selection of Best For With a Cigar also had a selection of Best for Around a Campfire
- 30% of tasting notes with a selection of Best for Leather Armchair also had a selection of Best for Introspection while 42% of tasting notes with a selection of Best for Introspection also had a selection of Best for Leather Armchair
- 30% of tasting notes with a selection of Best For Leather Armchair also had a selection of Best For With a Cigar while 41% of tasting notes with a selection of Best For With a Cigar also had a selection of Best For Leather Armchair
Best for Leather Armchair had overlap with both Best For With a Cigar and Best for Introspection, but guess what? Best For With a Cigar and Best for Introspection had a very low overlap with each other. So, not only was Best for Leather Armchair our most used theme, but it is too broad and is better represented with a more specific association with Best For With a Cigar or Best for Introspection.
How about the similarity with Best for Around a Campfire and Best For With a Cigar? Well it should be no surprise, and perhaps a sign that our members are paying attention, that there should be strong overlap between two themes that involve copious amounts of smoke. Smoking cigars is one of our traditions, so it one had to be cut, it would have to be Best for Around a Campfire.
Adding new themes was a bit easier after soliciting ideas from the other founders. The new themes are:
- A Flask
- Dessert
- Impressing Your Date
- Pleasing a Crowd
- Your Enemies
To see all the themes and what they apply to, see this list. The new themes will show up after the next meeting!
Cheers!