A Classification of Pure Malt Scotch Whiskies
本文运用多种统计方法，将品酒师对109种单一麦芽苏格兰威士忌的文字描述转化为数值数据库，并通过距离计算和层次聚类进行分类，回答威士忌的主要类型、特征及地理分布等问题。
Single-malt Scotch whiskies are produced by 109 distilleries in Scotland. The layman may wonder what are the major types of single malts that can be recognized, and what are their chief characteristics and best representatives, whether there is a geographical component in that classification and whether the various categories of characteristics lead to the same classification. This paper provides an answer to these questions, applying an array of statistical methods to a database derived from a connoisseur's description of these liquors. The taster's literary descriptions of Scotches were turned into a numerical database (109 Scotches × 68 binary variables). A first classification was produced by distance computation and hierarchical clustering