Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol

I actually learned a lot from this book and not just about women and booze - I learned a lot about the history of alcohol and was super intrigued throughout the whole book. Mallory O'Meara does an excellent job of giving readers the history of women and booze while also highlighting some extremely influential women along the way. There were so many interesting tid bits about how alcohol was made - where customs and laws came from - and of course - how women got the short end of the stick time and time again. Women do not get nearly enough credit for their impact and are even now still overshadowed by their male counterpoints. I think this book is important for anyone who likes learning about history and drinking. A fun and extremely show more enlightening read! show less

I loved this book. I’m not a drinker, but it doesn’t matter because the history here (covering thousands of years of alcohol) and amazing women make this a perfectly engaging read (or listen in my case). The history is so much fun (minus the rampant misogyny of course—men still suck and pretty much always have), and I loved learning so many new-to-me stories such as how much Hildegarde of Bingen was into brewing (and drinking) beer.

Also shoutout to Susan W. who apparently was a cocktail aficionado without me realizing it. In December of 1997, she introduced us to a Cosmopolitan in Rochester, New York, at a Christmas party. So when I turned 21 in January of 1998 the next month, I had to explain to the bartender at a piano bar in show more Asheville, North Carolina, how to make it (because he’d never heard of it). In my memories I assumed Susan heard about it from SatC, but apparently it wasn’t introduced there (and to the mainstream world) until 1999. My only pre-trend accomplishment in my life. show less

This detailed and comprehensive book sets out to uncover the often-erased history of women and alcohol. The author was inspired to pursue writing this book when she couldn't find a book on the topic anywhere. All the history books about alcohol relegated women to odd footnotes or ignored them entirely.

To her surprise, she found that women have had influential roles in all aspects of alcohol creation from time immemorial. In fact, brewing beer and distilling liquor was traditionally a woman's job as it fell into the domestic sphere. Alcohol only became a "man's job" once it became profitable. In fact, a woman's relationship with alcohol is a good litmus test for a society's overall treatment of women.

This book is fascinating, funny, show more and accessible for anyone. The author's voice is clear and easy to read. I greatly enjoyed this read! show less

So, this book wanted to take me on a journey, covering thousands of years, to explore the overlooked contributions of women in the history of alcohol – brewing, distilling, selling, serving, consuming, in different eras and cultures. Challenging patriarchal narratives is a pretty good idea, right?

“Who decided that drinking was a gendered act?”. and “Why is marking a drink feminine a bad thing in the first place?” Let’s dig in, I said.

We start with the first primates and ancient Mesopotamia, while the last chapters deal with modern times. There are lots of fascinating anecdotes and historical facts: the women of Mesopotamia who brewed beer and managed large-scale alcohol production; Hildegard von Bingen, a medieval nun who show more was the first to write about beer scientifically; the beginnings of gendering of alcohol seem to originate from the Code of Hammurabi (nice girls don’t go to taverns, it said, or something to that effect); the laws of the early Roman Empire that prohibited women from drinking. This is all both enlightening and infuriating. Also, the pattern through the ages seems to be as follows: women have a good and profitable thing going here, they are getting independent; patriarchy panics and takes it all.

O’Meara’s ambitious scope works against the book, though. There are frequent jumps between different stories. It felt rushed and jarring and pulled me out of the book. Some things that the author chooses to focus on, such as Prohibition, bar culture, and cocktails in the US were not very interesting to me (imo, of course). Meanwhile, we breezed through topics that I find more intriguing, such as the sake-makers of Japan or how the colonial and patriarchal structures intertwine when colonizers try to control indigenous women’s brewing.

The tone can sometimes come across as condescending, especially when the author assumes that her readers lack knowledge because “they went to American schools”. Sweeping statements like “Good riddance to Greco-Roman culture and its watery wine” feel out of place, they annoy and distract.

The last few chapters, which focus on modern-day female master blenders, brewers, and cocktail makers, don’t feel like a narrative any more, they are more like a list of accomplishments in a CV. They were a chore to read and I was impatient to finish. It’s a shame, because these women are pretty amazing.

I did learn lots of new things, so I can be satisfied with that. show less

Who knew! Those were the first words that came to my mind when I finished reading O’Meara’s smart, original, and completely absorbing book exploring the story of how women were originally in charge of the production and distribution of alcohol, and how eventually denied this role due to patriarchy and thus mostly written out of history.

An engaging blend of mystery, history, and appealing wily influential women across different continents, cultures, and countries makes for an informative, accessible, and plain fascinating read!

I appreciated the journey from the beginnings of the business of alcohol to the present time when women are once again asserting and gaining the long overdue recognition being in the forefront in the business show more of alcohol.

I recommend this book to those who are interested in women’s history, the business of alcohol, or just occasionally enjoy an alcoholic drink! show less

This book was an epic read! In short, it goes through the history of “girly” drinks but once you get to reading, it’s so much more. The author’s sarcasm and wit are a highlight throughout the book. There were many times I found myself laughing at a story that the author had included. The Prohibition chapter was my favorite but overall this is one of the best nonfiction books I’ve read this year. If you like alcohol and history, I highly recommend this book!

A fascinating history of how women have been integral to the use and role of alcohol in human (and pre-human) society.