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Whiskey Women: The Untold Story of How Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch, and Irish Whiskey by Fred Minnick


A photograph of two women working in a whiskey factory holding bottles with white shirts and aprons and large black bowties
Cover of Whiskey Women by Fred Minnick

Fred Minnick goes through the history of alcohol, starting as far back as Mesopotamia and unearths as much information as he can about the role women played in that history. This book had a lot of interesting tidbits and funny stories to go along with all the data that the author provides. It's a slow read, not surprising for an informative nonfiction book but it was maybe a little slower than I expected, but I learned a lot and came away with several new talking points and fascinating historical women. Like Nancy Boggs, who ran a brothel on a boat and avoided liquor taxes by floating her barge up and down the Willamette River. Fred Minnick does a good job of discussing not only the women who shaped whiskey, both the flavor and the marketing, but also the women who worked in the plants doing the packaging and the storage.


I'm giving Whiskey Women by Fred Minnick 3 stars out of 5. It was short, fairly entertaining, and it seemed well researched. This may be a very interesting read for anyone who enjoys a single malt especially.


For more from Fred Minnick, check out https://www.fredminnick.com/


Goes well with a Manhattan, please drink responsibly.

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