Whiskey Women

Details from the maker

Without women, whiskey may not exist. In Whiskey Women, Wall Street Journal -bestselling author Fred Minnick tells the tales of women who have created this industry, from Mesopotamia's first beer brewers and distillers to America's rough-and-tough bootleggers during Prohibition. Women have long distilled, marketed, and owned spirits companies. These strong women built many iconic brands, including Bushmills, Laphroaig, and Maker's Mark. Until now their stories have remained untold.

Review

"The necessary new book Whiskey Women: The Untold Story of How Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch & Irish Whiskey tells us exactly why the pinky-in-the-air, fruity-drink cliché has never, ever been true. Forget umbrellas in cocktails: Kentucky journalist Fred Minnick shows us how the fairer sex established liquor techniques, culture, and tastes as we know it today." -- Esquire.com

"This enjoyable book leaves readers feeling a way they're likely not accustomed to after such a wild, whiskey-soaked ride: enlightened." -- American Way Magazine

"...fascinating..." -- SeriousEats.com

"Whiskey Women is an entertaining and unexpected look at the role of women in the spirits industry. They were an integral part of this history and I'm delighted their story is finally being told." -- Southern Foodways Alliance

"Ask even the most committed spirits aficionado about the contributions of women to the bourbon, scotch and Irish whiskey industry, and you'll probably draw a blank. Minnick, an elegant writer and fastidious scholar, not only fills in those blanks, but shows how women at Bushmills, Maker's Mark and Johnnie Walker owe much of their success, even salvation, to women like Bessie Williamson, who became the head of Laphroiag Distillery and the spokeswoman for the troubled scotch industry." -- John Mariani, HuffingtonPost.com