Responsible Drinking Policy
Draft — prepared for review by qualified legal counsel before launch. Not yet legally reviewed.
Effective date: 20 July 2026 · Last updated: 20 July 2026
Roughly half of the drinks encyclopedia concerns beverages that contain alcohol. Writing about them honestly is part of our educational mission; writing about them responsibly is a condition of it. These are the rules every alcohol-related page on this site must follow.
We inform; we never encourage
Our articles document what drinks are, where they come from and how cultures have used them. They never encourage anyone to drink, to drink more, or to drink faster. Specifically, this site will never publish: drinking games or challenges; content that celebrates intoxication or "bingeing"; "how much can you handle" framing; or copy that presents heavy drinking as glamorous, humorous or a marker of belonging. Moderation language in our recipes and guides is not a legal fig leaf — it is the editorial voice of the whole site.
Not for minors
Content about alcoholic drinks is intended solely for readers of legal drinking age in their own country. We do not create alcohol content styled to appeal to minors, we do not use youth-oriented imagery or slang in alcohol articles, and our recipes never suggest alcoholic variants of children's drinks. Because the site is a reference work rather than a shop, we do not operate an age-gate, but every alcohol page is clearly labelled (see below) and the site-wide notice in our footer strip repeats the age intent on every page.
No sales, no promotion
There are no purchase links anywhere on this site — not for alcohol, not for anything. We take no money, samples or hospitality from alcohol producers or retailers, and we never will; our Advertising Policy permanently excludes alcohol-brand sponsorship. Brand names appear only where an encyclopedia requires them, and never as a recommendation to buy.
Clear labelling
Every drink profile, recipe and article is tagged as alcoholic or non-alcoholic. The label appears on the page itself, in search results within the site, and in the page's metadata, so readers — and parents using content filters — can tell at a glance what a page contains. Our search overlay includes one-click filters for "Non-alcoholic" and "Contains alcohol".
Respect for readers who don't drink
Many of our readers do not drink — for reasons of health, faith, recovery, pregnancy or simple preference — and this site is fully theirs too. Non-alcoholic drinks receive the same editorial depth as alcoholic ones; abstinence traditions are covered with the same respect as drinking traditions; and we avoid language that treats not drinking as unusual or drinking as the default. Where a classic recipe has a genuine non-alcoholic counterpart, we say so.
If drinking is a problem
If you are worried about your own drinking or someone else's, help exists and it works. Speak to your doctor or national health service; look to recognised public-health authorities such as the World Health Organization for information about alcohol and health; and consider the established support organisations active in most countries, from national alcohol helplines to mutual-support fellowships. We deliberately do not print specific phone numbers here, because they differ by country and change over time — your national health service's website will list current local services. Nothing on this site should ever be read as minimising alcohol's risks; see also our Medical & Health Disclaimer.
Accountability
Alcohol content receives an additional editorial review before publication under our Editorial Policy. If any page on this site breaks the rules above, report it via the corrections form or hello@allaboutdrinks.xyz; such reports are prioritised under our Corrections Policy.