Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol
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- Create Date：2021-10-30 03:21:06
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Mallory O'Meara
- ISBN：1335282408
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Mike
，
I heard about this book on the Reading Glasses podcast， plus I was a big fan of the author's first book， Lady from the Black Lagoon。 I was worried that she wouldn't be able to capture the magic of the first book， but her new one had all of the elements I loved about the first and was more compelling because alcohol has a much more important role in my life than horror movies。 This book is what it promises- a record of alcohol across the ages and women's relationship to its production and consump I heard about this book on the Reading Glasses podcast， plus I was a big fan of the author's first book， Lady from the Black Lagoon。 I was worried that she wouldn't be able to capture the magic of the first book， but her new one had all of the elements I loved about the first and was more compelling because alcohol has a much more important role in my life than horror movies。 This book is what it promises- a record of alcohol across the ages and women's relationship to its production and consumption。 What I thoroughly enjoyed， however， was the author's voice throughout that was both highly opinionated and outrageously funny。 I wasn't too far into the book before I got my first big belly laugh （"alcohol itself is colorless and highly volatile， much like an alcohol fueled frat party"） and there were many to follow after that。 Plus， the overall picture she painted piece by piece was a revelation， best captured in her own words: women are usually given all the responsibility but none of the power。 That line was specifically about women being responsible for policing men's alcohol consumption while also being expected to serve them alcohol while also ALSO being expected to not partake themselves， but it's true for so many aspects of life。 More than the theme， though， there were tons of fun facts like a good nonfiction book should have。 I feel， at the end， more educated and enlightened about the world I live in。 I never thought to think about women's role in alcohol before， so this book balanced the aspects of being interesting， informative， and entertaining that most nonfiction books struggle to achieve。 。。。more
Pamela
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Fantastic book， well researched and informative！
Melissa （LifeFullyBooked）
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I am not sure what I expected from this book， probably a look at how and what alcohol women have consumed over the years。 Even though it is subtitled "A World History of Women and Alcohol" I guess I wasn't expecting it to be as in depth and fascinating as it turned out to be。 This is so much a history of the contributions of various women to the development and business of alcohol rather than trends， although some of those are included as well。 The author starts with "The Dawn of Time" and the d I am not sure what I expected from this book， probably a look at how and what alcohol women have consumed over the years。 Even though it is subtitled "A World History of Women and Alcohol" I guess I wasn't expecting it to be as in depth and fascinating as it turned out to be。 This is so much a history of the contributions of various women to the development and business of alcohol rather than trends， although some of those are included as well。 The author starts with "The Dawn of Time" and the discovery of alcohol， and progresses forward through time and various women including （among others） Cleopatra， Catherine the Great's contribution to the empire of vodka， Lucha Reyes in the 30s and 40s with tequila， and Julie Reiner in the 2000s， ending in the present time with Apiwe Nxusani-Mawela's studies and brewing science。 The author does also touch on the progression of female drinking trends and some of the triumphs and drawbacks of these trends。 This is a fascinating book overall and almost read like a book of short stories。 I barely put it down until I was finished because it is approachable， yet taught me a great deal about many women I had either never heard of before or had no idea their contributions in the history of alcohol。 I highly recommend this intriguing book， it reminds me why I should pick up non-fiction a bit more often， because I'm always surprised at what I learn。 I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book， all opinions are my own。 。。。more
Brennan Klein
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No sophomore slump for Mallory O’Meara！ A brilliant and insightful journey that uses its specific lens as a kaleidoscopic view of the global history of power in the face of misogyny。
Emma
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Girly Drinks was an entertaining and informative look at the history of women making， serving， and consuming alcohol。 I had no clue that women had played such a huge role in the field of brewing。 O'Meara's writing is conversational， which made Girly Drinks an approachable read。 I learned a lot and look forward to telling people about Hildegard of Bingen the next time someone tells me hoppy beers are for men。 Girly Drinks was an entertaining and informative look at the history of women making， serving， and consuming alcohol。 I had no clue that women had played such a huge role in the field of brewing。 O'Meara's writing is conversational， which made Girly Drinks an approachable read。 I learned a lot and look forward to telling people about Hildegard of Bingen the next time someone tells me hoppy beers are for men。 。。。more
Teghan
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There is a reason history projects should be done by people trained on how to do it， and this book is a prime example as to why。 While interesting subject material， the text lacks professionalism and is more focused on providing "cool" asides rather than demonstrating a handle on the topics and skillsets required to do this topic properly。 This reads like an extra-long Wikipedia article， lacking depth and context， a result of the author being neither academic nor journalist。 This is not a histor There is a reason history projects should be done by people trained on how to do it， and this book is a prime example as to why。 While interesting subject material， the text lacks professionalism and is more focused on providing "cool" asides rather than demonstrating a handle on the topics and skillsets required to do this topic properly。 This reads like an extra-long Wikipedia article， lacking depth and context， a result of the author being neither academic nor journalist。 This is not a history of women and alcohol， it is a collection of stories of historical women （who were all cool， to be fair） presented amongst the barest of context for the time they lived in， all circling around O'Meara's thesis that "patriarchy didn't let them drink" but spending actually no time whatsoever to explore what that thesis means and how it might be complicated when you're looking at women's experiences from Mesopotamia， China， Indigenous North America， etc。 The author also lacks competency in knowing the history of these periods to do them justice - you can't just read one book on the role of women in Ancient Greece and think you can write a book on it （the brevity of her bibliography is proof of this）。 It is because of this， that there are actually errors in the book。 I am not an expert on a vast number of the periods/places she mentions in this book and so I cannot comment on their accuracy， however， the areas that I am an expert on are full of half-accurate statements from everything from The Modern Girl through to the Indian Act （Canada）。 These half-accurate issues are a byproduct of the author's lack of expertise， a lack of a good editor， and shows why context is absolutely essential for understanding the past。 You cannot simply make a glib footnote about something and move on。 I love popular history and I really wanted to like this book - research should be accessible and fun to read， especially in history。 But this is not what I want; poorly researched and poorly written semi-accurate works。 1。5 stars because many of the figures she highlights are interesting and hopefully it spurs someone who picks up this book to research more and become interested in history and I liked her overall vibe of "all drinks are girly drinks"。（review copy provided for free from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review） 。。。more
Denver Public Library
，
Much like O'Meara did in her earlier The Lady from the Black Lagoon， Girly Drinks dishes the dirt， points out the facts， and gives history a dusting up to give women their due in the culture， creation and serving of alcohol。 Readers will feel like the luckiest person at the bar with O'Meara sitting next to them， noting that our early ancestors needed alcohol calories， that bridal showers are rooted in "bride ale" and how Tatsu'uma Kiyo's building of the largest sake empire in Japan could be comp Much like O'Meara did in her earlier The Lady from the Black Lagoon， Girly Drinks dishes the dirt， points out the facts， and gives history a dusting up to give women their due in the culture， creation and serving of alcohol。 Readers will feel like the luckiest person at the bar with O'Meara sitting next to them， noting that our early ancestors needed alcohol calories， that bridal showers are rooted in "bride ale" and how Tatsu'uma Kiyo's building of the largest sake empire in Japan could be compared to Game of Thrones！ The author brings readers right into the 2010 and 20's with Skinnygirl Margaritas， women's whiskey clubs and female brewmasters， demonstrating that progress can， and is， being made。 A delightful and informative read that will have you reaching for the shaker and spoon。 。。。more
dobbs the dog
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Received from NetGalley， thanks！I probably shouldn’t have requested this from NetGalley， as I have not been in to reading NF at all in the past year。。。 What I did read of this one was really good， and interesting， just not quite enough to keep my interest right now。 I think that if you have an interest in feminist history， this would be right up your alley， or if you want a feminist history of drinking， this would definitely be your book。 Just not the right book for me right now。My started revie Received from NetGalley， thanks！I probably shouldn’t have requested this from NetGalley， as I have not been in to reading NF at all in the past year。。。 What I did read of this one was really good， and interesting， just not quite enough to keep my interest right now。 I think that if you have an interest in feminist history， this would be right up your alley， or if you want a feminist history of drinking， this would definitely be your book。 Just not the right book for me right now。My started review is obviously only based on the portion of the book I read。 。。。more
Joann Im
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Thought-provoking， humorous and informative， Mallory O'Meara deliciously concocts an extensive world history of feminism and alcohol。 The author uncovers and tells the untold stories of female brewers， distillers and drinkers that played an important role in the creation and consumption of alcohol throughout the ages。 This is my second book by the author and the one thing I love is her writing style。 Her sharp sense of wit and lighthearted conversational tone is captivating and provides a sense Thought-provoking， humorous and informative， Mallory O'Meara deliciously concocts an extensive world history of feminism and alcohol。 The author uncovers and tells the untold stories of female brewers， distillers and drinkers that played an important role in the creation and consumption of alcohol throughout the ages。 This is my second book by the author and the one thing I love is her writing style。 Her sharp sense of wit and lighthearted conversational tone is captivating and provides a sense of connection with the author。 It truly felt like O'Meara and I were having a conversation over drinks on all the fascinating tidbits on the history of empowering female profiles that made an impact in the alcohol industry。 The portrait of 15 women illuminates how they discovered and championed against the longstanding patriarchal tradition。 I am glad this untold history is finally being told and these women should be celebrated and credited for their great contributions。 Cheers to O'Meara for the riveting historical context on the queens of Girly Drinks！Thank you to NetGalley and Hanover Square Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Wiley Amsel
，
Truly 760PLUS CREDIT SCORE are the best people I have ever met！ I was reluctant to fix my credit because I was nervous and dubious to repeat the terrible process i had the previous time with different companies but they all made me feel more than comfortable with the process。 They made sure i knew everything every step of the way and even triple and quadruple explained things to ensure that i was knowledgeable on what i was doing。 I and my family are so blessed to have met such good people; they Truly 760PLUS CREDIT SCORE are the best people I have ever met！ I was reluctant to fix my credit because I was nervous and dubious to repeat the terrible process i had the previous time with different companies but they all made me feel more than comfortable with the process。 They made sure i knew everything every step of the way and even triple and quadruple explained things to ensure that i was knowledgeable on what i was doing。 I and my family are so blessed to have met such good people; they raised my FICO score from 573 to 802 shoot， they are just God sent to me for doing this great job on my score after several failures。 If you ever get in touch with them you will most definitely be in great hands in getting your credit fixed with 760PLUS CREDIT SCORE AT GMAIL DOT COM /304 774 5902 please don’t forget to let him know I recommended you cheers！！！ 。。。more
Toni
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Mallory O'Meara writes a brief history of women involved in the business of alcohol， not necessarily women drinking alcohol。 She does discuss a bit of that， i。e。， the title， "Girly Drinks" and how that phrase came about， but the concentration is on the business end。When she， O'Meara talks business， that can mean everything from distilling， brewing， blending， bottling， and selling。 Most of the women she mentions begin with chemistry degrees to understand the process of 'making' alcoholic beverage Mallory O'Meara writes a brief history of women involved in the business of alcohol， not necessarily women drinking alcohol。 She does discuss a bit of that， i。e。， the title， "Girly Drinks" and how that phrase came about， but the concentration is on the business end。When she， O'Meara talks business， that can mean everything from distilling， brewing， blending， bottling， and selling。 Most of the women she mentions begin with chemistry degrees to understand the process of 'making' alcoholic beverages。 Science is the foundation in this business unless you were born into it and learned everything while watching the process on your father's knee。 And yes， father is the correct parent because it has been a male dominated industry for a very long time。Wine and vineyards were probably the first to accept women into their fold before liquor distillers and beer brewers。 Rum accepted a woman first， then gradually other spirits starred to open their doors as well。 It wasn't until the 2000s that women made some progress， but the numbers are gradually growing。Girly drinks were originally cocktails with more soda， fruit juice and/or sugar than alcohol; and probably pink。 Wine coolers weren't too bad but they were made with cheap wine and bubbly sodas until tax on wine went up and they couldn't be made cheaply anymore。 That led to cheap alcohol and soda pop plus coloring。 'Alcopops，' which got sweeter and more colorful， and accused of marketing to teens。 They went bye-bye too。The 'Cosmo' famous drink by Carrie Bradshaw on 'Sex and the City' was probably the only girly drink that wasn't terrible。 But the Cosmo too outlived it's trendy life。The book is fairy interesting， but remember， it's more history than anything else。 Just know what to expect and you'll be fine。 Very readable and not scientific。 I'd rate it a solid three stars。Thank you to Netgalley and Hanover Square Press 。。。more
Kathleen Gray
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What a treat！ O'Meara has detailed the involvement of women with alcohol （producing it， drinking it） from ancient times to today and she's done so using both facts and anecdotes。 Each chapter covers a different time period and， although things do， as others have noted， jump around the world， I didn't find that distracting but rather that it gave global perspective。 There are all sorts of fun facts in here but there's also a good sense of humor。 I'm a fan of O'Meara's style， which is both straigh What a treat！ O'Meara has detailed the involvement of women with alcohol （producing it， drinking it） from ancient times to today and she's done so using both facts and anecdotes。 Each chapter covers a different time period and， although things do， as others have noted， jump around the world， I didn't find that distracting but rather that it gave global perspective。 There are all sorts of fun facts in here but there's also a good sense of humor。 I'm a fan of O'Meara's style， which is both straightforward an sly。 Thanks to edelweiss for the ARC。 One that's easily readable as a book of short essays- one a night or so。 。。。more
Piss lizard boi
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I like drink people's girly drinks uwu I like drink people's girly drinks uwu 。。。more
Bookclubbish
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CategoriesAlcoholic Beverages， Women History， Culinary History， Bartending
Jen
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3。5！！
Savannah
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Why are drinks gendered？ And why the heck have all these awesome women been filtered out of our history？ Girly Drinks by Mallory O’Meara is one of the most approachable nonfiction books I’ve read。 Mallory takes us through the history of alcohol and all of the women that， honestly， are the reason we have the alcohol we do today！ I immensely enjoyed her writing and felt like a friend was telling me a cool story throughout the entire book。 I was constantly texting my friends cool facts about drinki Why are drinks gendered？ And why the heck have all these awesome women been filtered out of our history？ Girly Drinks by Mallory O’Meara is one of the most approachable nonfiction books I’ve read。 Mallory takes us through the history of alcohol and all of the women that， honestly， are the reason we have the alcohol we do today！ I immensely enjoyed her writing and felt like a friend was telling me a cool story throughout the entire book。 I was constantly texting my friends cool facts about drinking history （did you know early saké had the consistency of oatmeal？） as I read。 If you like alcohol and feminist history， I think this is a must read！Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review！ 。。。more
Celia
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I appreciated the author's candid writing style and sense of humor。 I did not know alcohol has such a long and sexist history。It is exactly what it says: a history of the ladies who manufactured and consumed alcohol throughout history。 There are a lot of fascinating tidbits delivered in a breezy way that keeps you comfortably skimming through。 The ideal summer read on the deck。 I appreciated the author's candid writing style and sense of humor。 I did not know alcohol has such a long and sexist history。It is exactly what it says: a history of the ladies who manufactured and consumed alcohol throughout history。 There are a lot of fascinating tidbits delivered in a breezy way that keeps you comfortably skimming through。 The ideal summer read on the deck。 。。。more
Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell
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UPDATE: A BITCH IS GETTING AN ARC！！！ THE BITCH IS MEEEEE！！！！！！！！！YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY---I want this soooooo bad。 I love feminism and I love alcohol。I'd say that there's no possible bad combination of women and history and booze， but on the other hand， that's how we got the Temperance Movement。 UPDATE: A BITCH IS GETTING AN ARC！！！ THE BITCH IS MEEEEE！！！！！！！！！YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY---I want this soooooo bad。 I love feminism and I love alcohol。I'd say that there's no possible bad combination of women and history and booze， but on the other hand， that's how we got the Temperance Movement。 。。。more
Laura
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Mallory O'Meara’s GIRLY DRINKS has the perfect conversational breezy tone for making the history of alcoholic drinks and the parts women played fun。 Witty， sparkling， fiercely feminist， this book is a quick， engaging read。 Even casual drinkers will be captivated by the knowledge she shares。 Did you know we have Hammurabi and his code to thank for the idea that women shouldn’t drink？ This is great micro nonfiction with an informational and engaging tone。 Mallory O'Meara’s GIRLY DRINKS has the perfect conversational breezy tone for making the history of alcoholic drinks and the parts women played fun。 Witty， sparkling， fiercely feminist， this book is a quick， engaging read。 Even casual drinkers will be captivated by the knowledge she shares。 Did you know we have Hammurabi and his code to thank for the idea that women shouldn’t drink？ This is great micro nonfiction with an informational and engaging tone。 。。。more
Janilyn Kocher
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Mallory O’Meara gives a great brief history of women and alcohol。 The book spans from ancient times to modern day as she examines the roles women played in alcohol production， sales， and consumption。 While not a comprehensive history， the author provides snippets of information to have readers reaching for a glass of their favorite adult beverage。 It’s a breezy， fun read and will engage readers on a boozy journey。 Cheers！ Thanks To Hanover Square Press and NetGalley for the early copy。
louisa
，
Yes， please！ GIRLY DRINKS is Mallory O'Meara's follow-up to her beloved THE LADY FROM THE BLACK LAGOON。 O'Meara takes us on a world tour microhistory featuring all-timers like Cleopatra， Hildegard von Bingen， the Widow Cliquot， and ancient Sumerian beer goddess Ninkasi。 Writing with sass and erudition， O'Meara's conversational tone and deep research is great match for fans of Mary Roach。 Reading GIRLY DRINKS is like getting drunk with Rebecca Solnit in a dive bar。 Highly recommend！ Yes， please！ GIRLY DRINKS is Mallory O'Meara's follow-up to her beloved THE LADY FROM THE BLACK LAGOON。 O'Meara takes us on a world tour microhistory featuring all-timers like Cleopatra， Hildegard von Bingen， the Widow Cliquot， and ancient Sumerian beer goddess Ninkasi。 Writing with sass and erudition， O'Meara's conversational tone and deep research is great match for fans of Mary Roach。 Reading GIRLY DRINKS is like getting drunk with Rebecca Solnit in a dive bar。 Highly recommend！ 。。。more
Laura Blankenship
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I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。Wow！ I absolutely love this book！Honestly， this is my new favorite book。 I loved the author’s frank writing style and sense of humor。 I never new the history of alcohol was so extensive- or so misogynistic。 I’m definitely buying this book for my personal collection for my future kids to read。Some other reviewers are not a fan of the way this author tells the story， because she breaks it down by time period i I received an advanced copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review。Wow！ I absolutely love this book！Honestly， this is my new favorite book。 I loved the author’s frank writing style and sense of humor。 I never new the history of alcohol was so extensive- or so misogynistic。 I’m definitely buying this book for my personal collection for my future kids to read。Some other reviewers are not a fan of the way this author tells the story， because she breaks it down by time period i stead of location。 I too found this a bit confusing at first， but I didn’t mind jumping around from place to place after a minute。 I didn’t like how she sometimes left the area in a “cliff hanger” and jumped to a different part of the world…。 But seriously， I loved the information presented in this book。 Loved。 It。 。。。more
Andréa
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Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley。
Emily Correia
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This book has a lot of promise。 The author has a really fun girlfriendy tone while telling the story， so you very quickly feel connected to her。 I highly recommend reading the footnotes for more places where she shows her voice。 One word of caution though for people coming to this book looking for just wit， there is a lot of non-fiction almost textbooky information。 I really wanted this to be a fun book with information about different spirits or cocktails and their origin stories that I could p This book has a lot of promise。 The author has a really fun girlfriendy tone while telling the story， so you very quickly feel connected to her。 I highly recommend reading the footnotes for more places where she shows her voice。 One word of caution though for people coming to this book looking for just wit， there is a lot of non-fiction almost textbooky information。 I really wanted this to be a fun book with information about different spirits or cocktails and their origin stories that I could put on my bar， but this isn’t that kind of book。 She does a great job showing the role women play in the world。 Though in some places the book does drag a bit。 I found myself unfortunately skimming sections because my eyes were glazing over a bit with the tremendous level of detail shared and the number of anecdotes in each chapter。 The biggest fault I found was in some chapters she jumped around the world without warning and then returns to the main focus of the chapter。 It can be a touch confusing trying to figure out how the smaller stories relate into the main topic。 Unfortunately， I needed to put the book down so many times to let my brain rest from all of the jumping and absorb the significant amount of information presented that by the end of the book I was just so ready for it to be over that I almost DNF’ed this one after I was almost 3/4 of the way through it。 The promise of Carrie Bradshaw and the cosmo kept me reading until the end though。 If I were in the alcohol industry， this would be a really interesting book， it reminded me a lot of Moneyball for baseball。 If you’re looking for a fun book about how women influenced drinking culture and the process of creating alcohol， this isn’t the book for you。 But if you want a deep knowledge on the history of women’s role in the alcohol industry， you’ll love this。 。。。more
Margaret Schoen
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This is a review of an ARC from NetGalley。Just what it says on the box: a history of the women who made alcohol and who drank alcohol throughout history。 Loads of interesting nuggets written in a breezy style that keeps you skimming along easily。 The perfect pairing with a beach towel and a nice cocktail。 One quibble - the book is arranged chronologically， with each chapter covering a particular time period。 Within those chapters O'Meara covers several topics， but skips around between stories， s This is a review of an ARC from NetGalley。Just what it says on the box: a history of the women who made alcohol and who drank alcohol throughout history。 Loads of interesting nuggets written in a breezy style that keeps you skimming along easily。 The perfect pairing with a beach towel and a nice cocktail。 One quibble - the book is arranged chronologically， with each chapter covering a particular time period。 Within those chapters O'Meara covers several topics， but skips around between stories， so you're reading about the widow Cliquot in France， then hopping over to Africa to read about beer makers， then back to France， and so forth。 Maybe in the finished book there will be some visual clues to break everything up？ But it was a bit confusing in the digital copy。 。。。more
KC
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From the dawn of civilization， alcoholic beverages were popular。 For much of history， men were believed to have been the distillers， farmers， inventors， merchants， and drinkers。 Mallory O'Meara reveals that women played a significant role with the history of booze。 From Cleopatra， the party girl， to the invention of saké， to the years of prohibition and bootlegging， to Carrie Bradshaw and the Cosmo; at the end of the day， women ruled the roost。 From the dawn of civilization， alcoholic beverages were popular。 For much of history， men were believed to have been the distillers， farmers， inventors， merchants， and drinkers。 Mallory O'Meara reveals that women played a significant role with the history of booze。 From Cleopatra， the party girl， to the invention of saké， to the years of prohibition and bootlegging， to Carrie Bradshaw and the Cosmo; at the end of the day， women ruled the roost。 。。。more
Janet
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