Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-05-25

Forbidden Altar is a one-person editorial project. We don’t sell your data. We don’t track you across the web. We don’t build profiles. Here’s exactly what happens when you visit, and what data sticks around afterward.

What you give us when you visit

When you load a page, our host (Netlify) records standard server-log information: IP address, browser type, request URL, timestamp. This is automatic—every website on the public internet logs this by default. We use it to monitor for abuse and to keep the site running. We don’t analyze it for tracking.

We use Plausible Analytics—a privacy-friendly alternative to Google Analytics. Plausible counts pageviews, referral sources, top pages, and a handful of other aggregate metrics. It doesn’t use cookies, doesn’t track you across other sites, doesn’t build a profile on you, and doesn’t store your IP address (it’s hashed and discarded after the pageview is counted). The data we see is roughly what you’d see if you ran tail -f on a server log, minus anything identifiable.

What you give us when you opt in

If you sign up for the Dispatch newsletter, we collect your email address. That’s it. We use it to send you the newsletter. We don’t share it. If you ever want off, every email has an unsubscribe link, or you can email chris@forbiddenaltar.com and we’ll handle it.

If you save a cocktail to Favorites or add one to Want to Try, that data is stored in your browser only (localStorage). It never leaves your device. We don’t have it. Clearing your browser data wipes it.

Affiliate links

We participate in several affiliate programs: the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, the Bookshop.org affiliate program, the eBay Partner Network, the eBay Ambassador program, the Caskers affiliate program, and Skimlinks (which provides attribution across a broad merchant network, including Williams Sonoma). When you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

The affiliate networks use cookies and URL tracking parameters to attribute the sale. Each network has its own privacy policy governing how they use that data:

• Amazon Associates: amazon.com/privacy
• Bookshop.org: bookshop.org/privacy
• eBay Ambassador / Partner Network: eBay Privacy Notice
• Caskers (via impact.com): impact.com/privacy-policy
• Skimlinks: skimlinks.com/privacy

This affiliate disclosure also appears in the site footer.

eBay listings on /buy

We display live eBay listing data—titles, prices, images, item URLs—via the eBay Browse API. We don’t store any eBay user account information. We don’t link eBay users to Forbidden Altar visitors. We have no eBay user data, ever.

Who we share data with

• Netlify—our hosting provider. Required to serve pages to you.
• Plausible Analytics—privacy-friendly pageview counting. No cookies, no IP storage, no cross-site tracking. Plausible’s data policy.
• Affiliate networks—only when you click one of their links (see above).
• Email service provider—when we wire one up for the Dispatch newsletter, we’ll name it here. Currently the newsletter signup is captured but not yet routed to a service.

We don’t share data with anyone else.

Cookies and similar

• localStorage for Favorites and Want to Try (you control this).
• No tracking cookies set by us.
• Affiliate networks may set their own cookies when you click their links (see their policies above).

Your rights

If you want to know what email of yours we have (basically: are you subscribed to the newsletter?), or want it deleted, email chris@forbiddenaltar.com. We’ll respond within a reasonable window.

For California residents under CCPA and EU/UK residents under GDPR: the same rights apply. Email and we’ll handle it within the required statutory windows.

Children’s privacy

Forbidden Altar is about exotic cocktails. The content is for adults of legal drinking age—21+ in the United States, varies by jurisdiction elsewhere. We don’t knowingly collect any information from anyone under that age. If you’re under the legal drinking age in your jurisdiction: don’t drink, and don’t subscribe to anything here.

Updates to this policy

If we change this policy materially, we’ll update the “Last updated” date at the top, and for substantive changes we’ll post a brief note on the homepage for a couple of weeks. The current version always lives at forbiddenaltar.com/privacy.

Contact

Privacy questions: chris@forbiddenaltar.com

Drink well. Drink slowly. Learn everything.—Chris