Affiliate Disclosure

TasteSCOT is an independent editorial site. We use affiliate links on some pages to fund our work. This page explains exactly what that means, who pays us, and how we make sure the affiliate relationship never affects what we recommend.

What is an affiliate link?

An affiliate link is a special tracked URL to a retailer’s product or service. When you click one and then make a purchase, the retailer pays us a small commission — typically between 1% and 10% of the order value. The price you pay is exactly the same as if you had gone direct. You are not charged anything extra for using our link.

Which retailers do we have affiliate partnerships with?

At the time of writing, TasteSCOT is applying to or is a publisher with the following affiliate networks and retailers. We only add a retailer after we have genuinely tested or vetted their product or service:

• The Whisky Exchange, Master of Malt, The Whisky Barrel – online whisky retailers. We may link to specific bottles in our whisky buying guides.
• Highland Fayre, Loch Fyne Whiskies – Scottish hamper and gift retailers. Used in seasonal gift guides.
• Amazon Associates UK – for books, glassware, and kitchen equipment only. We don’t link to alcohol via Amazon.
• GetYourGuide and Viator – for distillery tour bookings where a direct booking link exists.
• BrewDog – for craft beer orders, in our craft beer coverage.
• Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) – whisky club membership. Not currently active as an affiliate link — see the SMWS membership review for the reason.

How we make sure it doesn’t affect what we recommend

This is the part that actually matters. A lot of sites pretend affiliate revenue doesn’t affect their editorial, and then recommend the product with the biggest commission at every opportunity. Our rules are:

1. Recommendation first, link second. We decide what the best product in a category is, then check whether an affiliate link exists for that product. If there is no affiliate link available for the best product, we still recommend it as the best. The second- and third-best picks in any buying guide often don’t carry affiliate links at all.
2. No ranking-by-payout. We never rank products by how much commission they pay us. The ranking reflects only our editorial view.
3. Disclosure on every article with affiliate links. Every article that contains affiliate links carries a disclosure block near the top, stating plainly that the article contains affiliate links.
4. Negative reviews where they’re deserved. When a product is overpriced, bland, or a rip-off, we say so — even if it’s from a retailer we have an affiliate relationship with.
5. No sponsored content pretending to be editorial. If we ever take a sponsored placement, it will be clearly labelled “Presented by” at the top. We do not currently accept sponsored content.

What we don’t do

• We don’t accept free bottles, free meals, free distillery tours, or press trips in exchange for coverage.
• We don’t take payment from distilleries, breweries, or producers to appear in our editorial rankings.
• We don’t pay for or incentivise positive reviews from anyone.
• We don’t operate paid placement on our programmatic pages (distilleries, gin brands, seafood species, markets, festivals).

Cookie behaviour

When you click an affiliate link, the retailer’s own cookie is set on your browser by the retailer — not by us. This cookie is how the retailer knows to credit us with the commission if you make a purchase. These cookies are governed by the retailer’s privacy policy, not ours. You can clear them via your browser settings at any time.

Regulatory compliance

This disclosure follows the guidance issued by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on online endorsements and affiliate marketing. If you believe we have failed to properly disclose a commercial relationship on any page, please email hello@tastescot.co.uk and we will fix it within 24 hours.

Why we do this

Affiliate commissions fund the hosting, email, and writing time that keep TasteSCOT going. They allow us to keep the site free to read, ad-free, and independent from distilleries, breweries, and tourism boards. If you find our guides useful, using our affiliate links to make purchases you were going to make anyway is the single easiest way to support the project. You pay exactly the same; we get a small commission; the recommendation stays honest.