Editorial Standards
We here at WhiskeySidekick.com, as a member of the spirit industry & editorial and reviewing community, continually strive to adhere to the original Drink Blog Code with a few very important ammendments:
- Respects other people’s copyright.
- Strives to offer original content. Content sourced from other people is attributed to those people. The following exceptions are sometimes made: marketing material which is clearly intended for publicity purposes and content which carries a Creative Commons or other license which explicitly permits its use without attribution.
- Tries to be honest with its readers. We WILL clearly disclose paid for advertising from normal editorial content.
- Works to maintain its independence and integrity. We will NOT allow advertising revenue nor the receipt of samples for review to influence what we write about nor how we write about it. For example, if a product for review is sent to us, we may decide to review it but we will not give it undue prominence and will state our honest opinion of the product.
- Tries to be thorough. We attempt to verify the accuracy of the information we are offering.
- Strives to be fair. Parties who have been factually misrepresented will be given an opportunity to have the record corrected on the blog. The publication of readers’ comments, however, is at our discretion.
Because we are in the business of being completely transparent, here are some of the ways we may keep this ship afloat:
- Affiliate code links in suggestions on where to go to buy a bottle of something we write about
- Affiliate code links to things we reference in buying guides, including items up on Amazon
- Traditional web advertising via banner ads on the site
- Sponsored content (i.e. advertorials), which will be clearly spelled out as such when posted
- Sponsored portions of the site, such as specific categories, articles or topics
As previously stated above we will NEVER allow revenue opportunities to influence what or how we write.
If you would like to know more about how we go about reviewing and rating whiskeys check out the How We Rate page.
Content Policy
Unless otherwise noted, the content contained within this website is entirely original and the property of Whiskey Sidekick. This includes reviews, articles, photography, videos, graphics, and website design. While much of the information included is based on information derived from other sources and then combined with the opinion of the writer, much of the information would be considered public knowledge or brand information available for media use and is presented without citation. With that in mind, we feel very strongly in the value of content and respect the lengths others go to in order to curate original content. As such, we strive to provide citation wherever necessary. With respect to product information and other statements that might be considered factual information, we strive to verify and provide accurate information.
We do not intend for any content presented in the website to be offensive, derogatory, or defamatory in nature.If for whatever reason you feel there is a violation of the aforementioned Content Policy within the website, please contact us.
Whiskey Sample Policy
We accept samples of all styles/brands of whiskey that we feel would be considered of interest to our readers, subject to our sole discretion. While we accept samples of any size, we encourage full bottles be provided as original bottle photography is a key design aspect of our website and social media posts. We reserve the right to evaluate such whiskeys and provide feedback via our social media channels and/or via our website. The feedback we provide may be positive or negative, depending on the results of our evaluation. In any event, it will be representative of our honest thoughts with respect to the whiskey in review. While we make every effort to thoroughly review each whiskey provided to us, we cannot guarantee an evaluation within a specific timeline or whether the whiskey will be featured on our website or on our social media channels. Any review that is based on a whiskey sample that is sent to us from a third party will be noted as such on that individual review
For information related to samples, whether we would consider reviewing, or where to send please contact us.
Product Sample Policy
We accept samples of whiskey related products that we feel would be considered of interest to our readers, subject to our sole discretion. We reserve the right to evaluate such products and provide feedback via our social media channels and/or via our website. We reserve the right to provide those products to readers via giveaways or sweepstakes. The feedback we provide may be positive or negative, depending on the results of our evaluation. In any event, it will be representative of our honest thoughts with respect to the product in review. While we make every effort to thoroughly review each product provided to us, we cannot guarantee an evaluation within a specific timeline or whether the product will be featured on our website or on our social media channels. Any review that is based on a bourbon or whiskey related product that is sent to us from a third party will be noted as such on that individual review.
For information related to samples, whether we would consider reviewing, or where to send please contact us.
Commenting Policy
Consistent with many other websites, most of our pages include an area at the bottom of the page where users may post comments related to the topic at hand. We encourage user comments and feel they add value to the discussion or feedback that allows us to improve the website. With that in mind, we reserve the right to choose which comments are posted and which are not, subject to our sole discretion. Generally speaking, abusive comments that would be considered spam, contain offensive, derogatory, or defamatory language, or appear to solely promote a user’s website or product will not be posted. We do not restrict comments from being posted solely on the basis of disagreement with our own opinion(s), as the whole purpose of comments is to generate opinions and discussion. Please see our Rules of Conduct section in our Terms of Use for a full explanation of our commenting policy.
If you submit a comment but do not see it posted and feel it is in error or if you feel a comment posted is violating the aforementioned policy, please contact us.