Hello there,
Since the new update, it seems that the spider web-like diagram used for the aromatic profile has been replaced by an overly simplistic new 5 level diagram that consists of comparing sweetness and dryness, fruits and wood, and finally levels of intensity.
I am a bit surprised of that change, especially that the diagram showed proper aromatic profiles for each rum based on user’s reviews, which I believe made the diagram at least relevant and useful. It was a proper base and foundation to apprehend a profile and have some data visualisation on the rum sheet.
As a geek, I enjoyed the process of assessing my rums in details, so that I have a complete review of the rums I have been tasting over the past few years.
My guess is this change has been made to make the tasting experience more intuitive and simplistic for the newcomers, so that they would understand more easily « How to review rum ».
Nonetheless, this approach seems to miss one highlight of RumX, which was to « Taste like a pro ». I am no Great Messiah to say I am a professional, but the approach feels overly simplistic to me, and the hard work I put on my ratings, especially here on the diagrams, has vanished completely and it kinda feels bitter to my taste…
Isn’t there a way to make the diagram back and make it as a more for « experienced users » and keep the new approach for the new « rummers » ? I’m curious about what you guys think about this change though.
Peace
TheRhumHoe
10 Likes
I’m with you there. Also kind of confused just now of the new system and not sure if I like it or prefer the old style yet.
I’m sure @Oliver will spread some words about his idea behind that soon though 
3 Likes
I can see another issue as well. Old reviews are suddenly “empty” and some details missing (nosing limited to tags).
3 Likes
Also the whole look looks not certainly clean yet since you can see in the background there’s stuff that should be seen I guess..
Think I prefered the sliders to this before.
5 Likes
Hey,
wanted to quickly answer this myself, not have it sit there.
Short version: I did a ton of user surveys in the past and we looked at the data and most people who started a tasting never finished the spider. Really most. People did stars, tags, a comment, and then the radar just stayed empty. I didn’t expect the gap to be that big. And yes, I used the spider a lot myself, so this is also a feature I personally (temporarily) killed.
The other thing, the part you don’t see from outside the app: on our side the recommendation system and match score we run on each rum already talks in sweet/dry, fruity/woody, mild/intense. That’s the language we use internally to compare bottles, find similar ones, do recommendations. The old 14 sliders never mapped to any of it. So whatever you filled in basically stayed in your own note and went nowhere else. That bothered me for years. You did the work and we did nothing useful with it on our side.
The new 3-pole compass is not a “beginner version”. It’s the same vocabulary the rest of the app already speaks. So now your input lines up with how a rum gets compared in the system.
A few things you should know:
- Old spider entries are still there. We didn’t migrate, didn’t touch, didn’t overwrite anything. If we bring a detailed mode back later, your data is exactly where you left it.
- This is an experiment, not a final decision. We gave ourselves a window and a bar to clear. If the compass does not end up clearly more used than the spider was, we change course. I’d rather say that openly here than pretend.
- A “detailed mode” with more depth could come back later as an opt-in. No promise, no date. But it’s on the list and the people in this thread are pretty much exactly who that mode would be for.
What I’d ask from you:
- Use the compass for two weeks on real tastings. Not one quick test pour. Then come back and tell me what was actually missing.
- “Feels too simple” or “feels unfamiliar”. I already know, and that fades. What I really need from you is concrete: which rum did you taste, what did you want to say, what axis was missing?
Something like “this Hampden had a smoked-leather thing going on and the compass had no way for me to put that in” is feedback I can do something with. “Bring back the spider” I already heard, and that one I cannot build from.
Looking forward to your thoughts the next weeks,
Oli 
15 Likes
