Archives: Websites

Really Bad Rum is a WordPress site for Doc's Really Bad Rum, a small craft spirits brand selling dark, spiced and silver rum plus a rum cake and a barbecue sauce. Because alcohol cannot be sold direct to consumers online in most of the United States, the site works as a brand and retailer-locator hub rather than a store, built around pirate-tinged storytelling and an age gate confirming visitors are 21 or over.

Website Design

A gold, black and cream palette. The theme's stylesheet centers on a warm goldenrod (#daa521) against near-black text (#151515) and cream and white grounds, echoing the amber tones of rum and label gold foil rather than a generic liquor-brand navy.

A branded display face over a plain workhorse. Headings run in Trumpgothicpro, a bold condensed display font used for the "Really Bad" logotype and section titles, while body copy sits in Nunito, a rounder, more neutral sans-serif that keeps recipe text and product descriptions easy to read.

A theme built for storytelling pages. The custom "reallybadrum" theme includes its own icon font and layout templates for recipes and video embeds, showing the site was built around content, cocktails, food, the founder's legend, rather than a product catalogue.

Shopping Experience

Retailer links stand in for a cart. There is no add-to-cart flow. An "Order Doc's Rum Online" link and a "Distributors" page route buyers to outside retail partners such as The Wine Wave, consistent with how most US spirits brands are legally required to sell.

A handful of directly listed prices. Away from the rum itself, smaller items carry visible tags: the rum cake and barbecue sauce are both priced at $6.99, giving the site a partial sense of cost even though the core product has none shown.

Age verification before anything else. Every visitor must confirm they are 21 or older before the homepage loads, a legal gate that also sets the tone: an alcohol brand site first, a shop second.

Brand Storytelling

A 17th century legend as the origin story. The brand is built around "Doc Brown," framed as a Caribbean-era healer who "concoct[ed] a potion" from rum, with a dedicated "The Legend" page carrying the backstory and the slogan "Finally, It's Good to be 'Really Bad'."

Awards used as evidence. The site cites a "2018 Rum Of The Year" title and a 2019 silver medal from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, giving the pirate narrative some third-party backing.

Notable Features

A recipe library in place of a blog. Separate "Cocktails" and "Food Recipes" sections hold user-facing drink and dish ideas built around the rum, positioned in the main navigation alongside the shop and contact links.

Drink videos and a fan club. A "Drink Videos" section and a membership program called the "Really Bad Army" offer coupons, prizes and monthly drawings, extending the site beyond a single transaction into repeat engagement.

Social proof in the header. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram icons sit in the top navigation bar on every page next to a search box, keeping social channels one click away rather than confined to the footer.