Perhaps I biased the tasters a bit by putting this pie first in line, right next to the evaluation forms, and putting the title (“Best-Ever Pumpkin Pie”) on the label, but most tasters did not agree that it was the “best ever”. A number noted the dark rum which is a principal flavoring ingredient. This pie was ranked third on filling texture and fourth on pumpkin flavor, but tasters thought it was slightly too sweet and equally too spicy, and placed it seventh overall. The crust was given particularly poor marks — even worse than the other pie I made from the same batch of crust; I’m inclined to attribute that to Sax’s odd and inadequate blind-baking procedure.