GIRLY DRINKS

Out now, Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol is the history of women making, serving and drinking alcohol all over the world. It won a 2022 James Beard Award and was nominated for a 2022 Spirited Award.

From the earliest days of civilization, alcohol has been at the center of social rituals and cultures worldwide. But when exactly did drinking become a gendered act? And why have bars long been considered “places for men” when, without women, they might not even exist?

With whip-smart insight and boundless curiosity, Girly Drinks unveils an entire untold history of the female distillers, drinkers and brewers who have played a vital role in the creation and consumption of alcohol, from ancient Sumerian beer makers and Russian bootlegging grandmothers, to iconic bartenders and bar owners, and up till today. Filling a crucial gap in culinary history, O’Meara dismantles the long-standing patriarchal traditions at the heart of these very drinking cultures, in the hope that readers everywhere can look to each celebrated woman in this book—and proudly have what she’s having.

“Cheers to Mallory O'Meara and her serious yet seriously entertaining treatise on the history of gendered drinks. Girly Drinks will introduce you to queens and nuns, bootleggers and bartenders, telling their stories and proving the point that all drinks are girly drinks.”

—Jeanette Hurt, author of Wisconsin Cocktails and Drink Like a Woman 

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