Dram Good ("we", "us", "the site") is a small independent whisky-review publication run by Steve and Alan. This policy explains how we handle personal data when you read reviews, sign up as a member, leave a comment, or drop into the newsletter. If anything here reads badly, tell us and we'll fix it.
Who is the data controller
Dram Good is the data controller for personal data collected through this site. You can reach us at hello@dramgood.co.uk for any privacy question, request, or complaint.
What we collect and why
| Data | Why | Legal basis (UK GDPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Email + password (members) | To create your account and let you sign back in. | Contract |
| Display name, avatar colour, bio | To attribute your comments and show your dashboard. | Contract |
| Favourites, ratings, comments | To power your personal ledger and public discussion. | Contract |
| Newsletter email | To send the weekly dram note. | Consent |
| Anonymous page counts | To see which reviews people actually read. | Consent (via cookie banner) |
| Support emails you send us | To reply and keep a record of the conversation. | Legitimate interest |
Things we will never do
- Sell your data. Not to distilleries, not to retailers, not to anyone.
- Share your email with advertisers or "partner brands".
- Track you across the wider web with third-party ad pixels.
- Publish your email, password, or private favourites.
Who processes your data on our behalf
We use a small number of trusted service providers ("processors") to run the site. Each is contractually bound to handle your data only on our instructions.
- Hosting & database — our cloud infrastructure provider stores account records, comments, and favourites in secured European data centres.
- Email delivery — used to send account verification and the newsletter.
- Analytics — anonymous, aggregate-only, and only if you accept analytics cookies.
How long we keep it
- Member accounts: for as long as your account is open, plus 30 days after deletion for backup rotation.
- Comments & ratings: kept while your account is active; anonymised (author replaced with "Deleted dramster") on deletion so threads still make sense.
- Newsletter: until you unsubscribe. Every email has a one-click unsubscribe link.
- Support emails: 24 months.
Your rights
Under UK GDPR you can, at any time:
- Ask what data we hold about you (right of access).
- Correct anything that is wrong (rectification).
- Ask us to delete your account and associated data (erasure).
- Object to processing, or ask us to restrict it.
- Take your data with you in a portable format.
- Withdraw consent (e.g. unsubscribe, revoke analytics cookies) without affecting past processing.
Email hello@dramgood.co.uk and we'll action any of the above within 30 days. If you're unhappy with our response, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).
Children
Whisky is a spirit for adults. You must be at least 18 (or the legal drinking age in your country, whichever is higher) to create a member account or subscribe to the newsletter. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18.
Security
Passwords are stored hashed by our authentication provider — we never see them in the clear. All traffic to and from the site is TLS-encrypted. Access to member data is restricted to Steve and Alan and gated by role-based access controls.
International transfers
Data is primarily stored in the UK and EU. Where a processor operates outside the UK/EEA, we rely on the UK's International Data Transfer Agreement or equivalent Standard Contractual Clauses.
Changes to this policy
If we make material changes we'll bump the cask date at the top of this page and, for significant changes, email members before the change takes effect.