Editorial Policy

This policy sets out how The Whisky Ledger researches, writes and reviews the material it publishes, and the compliance standards that govern all content on this site.

The Whisky Ledger is editorially independent. We accept no sponsorship, advertorial, gifts, samples, hosted visits or paid partnerships from distilleries, alcohol brands, importers or retailers. We publish no affiliate links and earn no commission on any transaction. Subjects covered by this publication have no editorial input and no advance sight of material before publication.

Articles are researched from primary and secondary historical sources, including excise and parliamentary records, licence documentation, patent filings, contemporary industrial surveys such as Alfred Barnard's 1885 work, company archives and peer-reviewed historical scholarship. Where a claim is contested in the record, we say so rather than presenting one account as settled.

• Dates, licences and legislative references are checked against documentary sources.
• Attributed quotations are used only where a documented source exists.
• Traditions recorded orally are identified as such rather than presented as fact.
• Statistical claims are framed as documented or conventional figures rather than as precise measurements.

Each article is drafted, source-checked and reviewed by a second member of the editorial team before publication. Where the historical record is incomplete, we describe the limits of the record. We distinguish between what is documented, what is generally recognised and what is disputed.

All content published on this site is written to comply with the following standards:

• Google Ads Australia alcohol policies for publisher content.
• The Alcohol Beverages Advertising Code (ABAC) Scheme.
• The AANA Code of Ethics.
• Australian Advertising Standards guidance issued by Ad Standards.
• The Australian Consumer Law provisions concerning misleading or deceptive conduct.

In practice this means content is educational and historical in framing; it does not encourage consumption; it does not appeal to persons under 18 years of age; it does not portray intoxication; it does not associate alcohol with driving, machinery or any hazardous activity; and it does not suggest that alcohol confers health, social, sexual, financial or other personal benefits.

We write about how whisky was made and why it matters historically. We do not write about how it tastes, and we do not recommend that anyone drink it.

Product recommendations, tasting notes, ratings, purchase links and affiliate arrangements are incompatible with both editorial independence and the compliance standards above. We therefore publish none of them. Brand and distillery names appear only as the historical subjects of editorial writing.

We correct errors of fact promptly. Readers may submit a correction request through our contact page, selecting Content Correction as the subject. Substantive corrections are noted on the affected article. We do not respond to commercial or promotional enquiries.