Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol by Mallory OMeara

Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol Reviews

• 
  Melissa (Way Behind Again!)

  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.
• 
  Anne Bogel

  I picked this up solely because I love Mallory, her podcast Reading Glasses, and her writing voice—and it turned out to be an unexpected treat!
  
  In this fascinating, irreverent, whip-smart history, she highlights the female distillers, drinkers, and brewers who shaped alcohol consumption as we know it today. I had no idea how much I didn't know, all the way from Cleopatra to the history being made at a bar literally right down the street from me (I live in Bourbon country, so that's not quite as bizarre as it sounds).
  
  I listened to the audiobook, which Mallory narrates herself, and I HIGHLY recommend the book in this format. (Thank you, Mallory, for reading the acknowledgements as well. Few narrators do but hers are exceptional, and I'm so glad I got to hear them in her voice.)
  
  As featured in Modern Mrs Darcy's
  16 giftable books for every reader.
• 
  Nenia ✨ I yeet my books back and forth ✨ Campbell

  
  
  
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  I was lucky enough to score an advance copy of GIRLY DRINKS, which made me super excited because, as you probably know if you follow me on social media, I really like booze. The alcohol industry has not exactly historically been the most friendly to women, though. When people think booze, it's often in the context of a bunch of dudes just hanging out, or within the context of a cautionary tale about how drinking leads to rape (for women). So I was really excited to see this feminist history about alcohol of all kinds, going from prehistoric times to the present day of clubby cocktails and female sommeliers.
  
  
  
  Reading GIRLY DRINKS took me a while, though, and I'm sorry to say that's because parts of it were so tedious. The first couple chapters were fantastic, but then in later chapters, the author started jumping around. So she might start talking about the creation of gin in Europe, which would make sense because the title of the chapter would say something about gin, but then she would jump to rice wine in Vietnam or corn beer in Mexico, which made it kind of feel like this was filler because she didn't have enough material to flesh out her chapters.
  
  
  
  The best chapters were, unsurprisingly, the ones that felt the most fleshed out because of their abundance of material. I loved the chapters about Cleopatra and what douches the ancient Romans and Greeks were, and the brewing culture in nunneries and what an unexpected pioneer Hildegard was. Then there was a lot of slog, which didn't really pick up until the chapter about tiki bars, which I found fascinating because I love tiki drinks, despite their shady origins. I also really liked the chapter about the 90s and 2000s, about lesbian bars and the changing social landscape of drinking for women as date-rape drugs became more commonly used (and how sexist it is to tell women to be careful instead of telling men to STOP. RAPING). I also loved how Sex and the City and Bridget Jones both helped popularize different kinds of drinks for career women who just wanted to unwind and feel sexy, and how that kind of paved the way for wine moms. Sorry, I mean #winemoms.
  
  
  
  Overall, I think this was an interesting read. There were parts about it that I loved but I also skimmed a lot of the chapters that I was less interested in. If you enjoy drinking but hate how it feels like a "man's world" so much of the time and would like a fresh take on the history of alcohol, I think you might like this. But you should know that it reads like a textbook and is less about pop-culture than it is like a historical docuseries. I think if you go into it with that mindset you'll be more prepared than I am.
  
  
  
  Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review!
  
  
  
  2.5 stars
• 
  Scott

  " . . . people tend to forget that for thousands of years alcohol hasn't just been for getting trashed. Alcohol use is portrayed as a bad thing, a sin, a vice. But alcohol has been used as an integral part of diets and economies by native women across the globe. Making or drinking it was an important way to connect traditions and cultural identities." -- the author, on page 177
  
  I was an admirer of author O'Meara's provocative and previous work, The Lady from the Black Lagoon, so I came to this newest work with some enthusiasm but also likely some expectations. However, I did not think this sophomore effort was quite as successful. Focusing on a large number of known and/or unheralded women responsible for alcohol production and sales (starting at 8000 B.C. in the 'cradle of civilization' and running right up to the bars of modern-day Manhattan), it was a quite a bit of information thrown at a reader - and there was much jumping back-and-forth between multiple subjects in single chapters, leading to a jarring effect - but yet it still felt like it was presented in a superficial manner, or maybe that was due to the author's breezy and conversational tone. Still, it worked best when spotlighting some unique or little-known parts of history, like the seventy-one year-old nun Sister Doris Engelhard in Germany. Since 1969, this certified master brewer has been producing and selling her own beer (using modern recipes and machinery) at her assigned abbey as part of her vow to serve God. What was even more revealing was that centuries ago alcohol / liquor production and sales at nunneries, monasteries, and convents used to be commonplace. Who knew?
• 
  Olive Fellows (abookolive)

  Interesting information, but way too casually presented.
• 
  Ross Blocher

  Another fantastic book from Mallory O'Meara! Girly Drinks takes on the ambitious task of telling the story of women and alcohol, worldwide, from time immemorial to present. On the journey from 25,000-year-old cliff carvings to modern bartenders and master blenders, O'Meara introduces a variety of influential (if largely unknown) figures who have brewed, crafted, distilled, sold, blended, smuggled, and yes... imbibed every form of alcohol you can imagine. In each chapter, we visit a pivotal period in the history of alcohol. O'Meara is careful not to focus solely on western history alone. She'll begin one story, jump to other continents, introduce multiple, contemporaneous threads, and then loop back to complete each narrative. A pattern emerges: women have always been involved in the production and consumption of alcohol, and in every part of the world there is a tradition of home brewing and distillation that eventually gets crowded out by commercial intrusion and legal strong-arming. While men have found ways to exclude (no women allowed!) and marginalize (e.g., with the concept of "girly drinks" as fruity, sugary, and... well, pink), it has never stopped women from finding a way to participate and innovate.
  
  O'Meara shows great restraint in selecting just a handful of individuals per chapter to highlight the salient trends, though her research detailed many more. Most were new figures to me, with surprising connections to drinks we're all familiar with. It was fun to learn about Cleopatra's secret drinking club and inscribed ring, Hildegard of Bingen's commitment to brewing (what couldn't she do?), Catherine the Great's influence on vodka, and Aimee Semple McPherson's intemperate habits, among many other surprising stories and connections.
  
  I've never been very literate when it comes to booze, so it's helpful that O'Meara explains terms as we encounter them, describing how various alcohols are derived, produced and distinguished, and even where their names come from. Along the way, she drops her characteristic, witty footnotes with additional information and commentary that never let the book get dry. I sipped whisky while reading (now I know how that's distinct from whiskey), and now I have a bunch of new drinks I'd like to try. They're all girly.
• 
  Teghan

  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)
• 
  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 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.
• 
  Emily Correia

  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.
• 
  Oyinda

  I love feminist investigative nonfiction so much! Likeeeee. I just never sat down and thought about alcohol and drinking and its history across the globe as it affects women. I randomly stumbled across this one and I just knew I had to read it. It was so good. And so wide-reaching. Not just US and Europe but also Caribbean history, African history, and other parts of the globe. So much research went into this and it was never at any point boring to read. As always, books like this open my eyes more and more to the sheer injustice of being a woman and the burden that has always come with it from the dawn of time. Highly highly recommend. It's also my second five star of February. An amazing reading month so sar!
• 
  Toni

  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
  
• 
  Erin Franklin

  I love Mallory O'Meara and there was a lot of great stuff in here but I felt myself wishing it was a podcast series. The tone felt conversational to a point where it felt a bit cringey and forced and probably would have felt better actually in conversation with someone else. Also it felt like there was so much covered that there just wasn't space to do more than a shallow sweep through a lot of topics and when that was combined with the quippy tone it started to feel a little too much like a series of fun facts that could be printed on coasters.
• 
  Erin Cataldi

  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 enlightening read!
• 
  LAPL Reads

  We all know what a “girly drink” is: a drink that is sweet, brightly colored, generally served in a stemmed glass and often with an umbrella or some other type of decoration. “Serious” drinks, drinks for men, do not have or need these accoutrements. Can women not enjoy bourbon, scotch or whiskey? Are there no men that enjoy a daiquiri or a cosmopolitan? When, and how, did drinking become a gendered act? Mallory O’Meara, the author of 2019’s excellent The Lady from the Black Lagoon, is back with Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol, an ambitious, timely, and eminently readable chronicle of women’s history with alcohol, which answers not only that question, but a lot of others as well.
  
  In a mere 15 chapters, 335 pages, O’Meara tells a tale that spans from pre-history to the modern day, documenting not only the development of the alcoholic beverage, but how women have, at every point in history, been critical to the development, making, marketing, sales, and distribution of alcohol in every culture on the planet. All while simultaneously being restricted, forbidden, taxed and imprisoned for doing so. Each chapter focuses on a specific era in history and on women whose stories illustrate their involvement with, or restrictions against, drinking. Some of the highlights include a 12th century mother superior who discovered that by adding hops to her beer it would remain fresher longer; Catherine the Great, who bribed soldiers with vodka to remove her husband from the throne; Barbe-Nicole Clicquot, who in the 19th century, almost single-handedly created the mystique and market for Champagne; Bessie Williamson, the First Lady of Scotch; and the development of “cocktail culture” in the 1950’s United States. All of this told in O’Meara’s strong but conversational voice.
  
  O’Meara’s research is solid and her conclusions, including, “The double standard that drinking women face is deeply rooted in male anxieties about... women acting like people, not property,” are simultaneously timely and timeless.
  
  Girly Drinks is a must read, as well as an interview with the author right
  here.
  
  Reviewed by Daryl M., Librarian, West Valley Regional Branch Library
• 
  booksandbark

  A bit of background: when I started drinking at the ripe old age of 21 (yes, I may be the only person in America who waited until it was legally allowed to try a sip of booze), I thought I hated alcohol. Every drink I tried repulsed me. Then, someone offered me whiskey, and my whole outlook on alcohol changed. I realized I didn't hate drinking — I hated the fruity, sweet, low-calorie "girly" drinks that everyone expected me to enjoy. Up till I tried whiskey, no one had thought to offer me anything but rosé and vodka soda, because as a woman, certain drinks are not "supposed" to be for me. And now, whenever I drink bourbon, people always comment on how surprising it is that I — a woman — could possibly enjoy such a "manly" drink. It occurred to me that gendering cocktails is rather stupid — just drink what you want to drink. So naturally I wanted to find out why alcohol is gendered in the first place.
  
  Enter Girly Drinks. My story is not so different from the tale the author, Mallory O'Meara, tells in the introduction. Like me, she had resigned herself to a life of tolerable-but-not-delicious vodka sodas with lime before discovering bourbon. Like me, she thought gendering alcohol is beyond ridiculous. Like me, she wanted to find out why this is.
  
  Unfortunately, I didn't really like the quality of O'Meara's research, or how she presented her findings — which is a shame, given her potential. As many other reviewers have noted, this book reads like a 2015 Buzzfeed article. This style — along with O'Meara's tendency to shy away from providing many details and to overexplain the simplest things — gives the impression that the author is talking down to her readers, as if we can't be trusted to grasp the true complexities of the topic at hand. Additionally, about 40% of this book is not history, but O'Meara's snarky asides and opinions, usually aimed at how awful racism/sexism/colonization is or was. (Yes, I, along with most of the target audience of this book, agree sexism/racism/colonization is bad, but I'm not reading for O'Meara's opinions). Despite O'Meara constantly trying to demonstrate how progressive she was, when opportunities for thoughtful intersectional analysis arose, she ignored them. Other reviewers have also found significant factual flaws in various chapters of the book, which is a major issue. O'Meara often overstates the importance of alcohol to various historical events by not providing much information about other relevant sociopolitical circumstances. As other reviewers have noted, in many chapters — usually those not about the US or UK — it seems that O'Meara runs out of material and jumps from topic to topic (and country to country) at random to fill space.
  
  At the same time, I did learn a lot from the chapters on the US and UK — about Madam Cliquot (the "veuve" or widow, that created Veuve Cliqout, one of the world's best-selling champagnes; I know this is technically France), Bessie Williamson (the first woman to run the Laphroaig distillery, who created the categories of single-malt and Islay Scotch), Margie Samuels (who came up with the idea for the distinctive red wax bottling of Marker's Mark bourbon), Ada Coleman (the first female bartender at the American Bar in London), Carrie Bradshaw and Bridget Jones (fictional characters whose popularity ushered in the popularity of cosmos and chardonnay), and Julie Reiner (a bartender who reigned in the era of the craft cocktail) — were well-researched, tightly-paced, and very informative. I learned a lot about these incredible women's contributions to the way we drink alcohol today. If the whole book had been like those chapters — tightly edited, factual, and with a minimum of Buzzfeed-esque side comments — this book would have easily been four or five stars.
• 
  Candace

  As she says in her introduction, Mallory O'Meara uses case studies of fifteen women throughout history to illuminate "what it was like through the ages for a woman who wanted to drink." A few of my favorite points/quotes:
  
  "During my research, it was impossible not to notice how strong the correlation was between a culture that allowed women to drink and a culture that gave women their freedoms...For thousands of years, raising a toast as a woman was a subversive act. In many places all over the world, it still is. But, if they get paid less, withstand more pain, and have to fight against more oppression, aren't women more deserving of a gd drink?" (Introduction)
  
  "Alcohol legislation has always been about so much more than just moderating drinking and preventing drunkenness. It's about controlling people: who is allowed to drink and where. It's about stifling threats to authority and forcing certain types of people - poor people especially, and poor or native women ESPECIALLY - into certain types of approved behavior. It's about who can partake in this industry and make money off it. Just as it was in the ancient world, controlling who has access to alcohol is about who has access to political and economic power." (Ch. 6)
  
  Currently, "'wine moms' disparaged for using wine as a coping mechanism. There's no "beer dad" scornful stereotype. For decades, loveable sitcom fathers who crack open a beer when they get home from work are seen as deserving of it. Since mothers are expected to be on-call 24-7, there is no 'after work' for them. Therefore, it's scandalous to see them openly and publicly do the same." (Ch. 15)
• 
  Tracie Gutknecht

  Audiobook - Non-fiction
  
  Fantastic!
  I am so thankful that my friend spoke to me about this book. We get the history of alcohol and how women were intertwined with that story throughout. Regardless of class, race, religion or country you cannot talk about alcohol without speaking about women. It was so fascinating. There was so much information that I wanted/needed to absorb that I'm going to have to listen to this again.
  
  So much legislation came about as a way to keep women from making money by making alcohol. They were usually the first to make and market it and once it became popular or they became successful, men found a way to stop them or hamper those abilities.
  
  We all know about Prohibition in the US, but I didn't know that it was a group of bipartisan women that actually got it repealed. This book is filled with tidbits like that. I loved it!
• 
  Meg Tippett

  4/5 ⭐️: I really enjoyed this book! I did not know much about the history of alcohol and I've learned so much from Mallory. The organization is fantastic and each chapter focuses on a new area, highlighting a woman who significantly contributed to the creation of alcohol and drinking culture. Who knew that the entire system was built and crafted by women?? The chapters, while incredibly informative, were also super digestible and very conversational. I never felt like I was reading a history book. I highly recommend this book! It was such a fun read and I know so many fun facts :)
• 
  britt_brooke

  A thorough history of booze and the badass women who’ve revolutionized the industry. This is smart, funny, and truly informative! Whose idea was it to dip Makers Mark in red wax to differentiate their bottles? A woman. That’s merely one example in a book full of unsurprising, if I’m being honest, facts. A great gift book!
• 
  Dan

  An enthusiastic and well researched book that really delves into the relationship between women and alcohol through history.
• 
  Callie Cinque

  I loved this book so much I had to slow myself down while reading it because the information was so interesting and engaging I wanted to digest it slowly. I can’t stop talking about every little detail about history and women and alcohol that are so carefully woven in this book. I might’ve studied history if I had known this is what history research can look like and help you learn. SO GOOD
• 
  Beverly

  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 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!
  
  
• 
  Robert

  Great overview of the evolution of alcohol making & drinking traditions through a feminist perspective. Includes the stories of various women brewers, distillers, smugglers, & drinkers throughout history. I especially like the story of Sunny Sund & Don creating the first Tiki Bar out of all of Don’s knick-knacks & Sunny’s artistic vision & commercial sense. I also like this book's overview of various folk & home brewing traditions throughout the world, & how women have traditionally been home brewers & distillers throughout the world. Girly Drinks me want to try all of the drinks O’Meara describes, even the thick gloppy homemade ones of yore. I was hoping the chapter on Cleopatra would say something about the tales of her drinking pearls dissolved in vinegar, but no such luck. Makes the point that distilled spirits have only been made for the past 600 years, so humans still aren't sure how to handle them. The stories of the modern state trying to suppress home brewing & distilling, which were the domain of women, reminds me of the story told in Que Vivan Los Tamales of how Mexico tried to suppress street food, which was also the domain of women. The writing style is very radio program or audiobook friendly. It makes me interested in O’Meara’s podcast.
• 
  Stephanie

  The topic was very interesting and I did learn a lot and felt compelled to continue looking things up on my own. However this is a 3 star book entirely because of the editing.
  
  The organization of this book is chaotic. Each chapter is by year/era/time period etc and that’s where the flow of writing ends. You’ll read a few paragraphs about a woman in ancient China and then the next paragraph (with either no line break, a single line break, or a double line break) will suddenly be in Germany or South America or Africa talking about different people and different alcohol. It’s so disjointed it’s jarring and really ruined my reading experience. At times it almost felt like an assigned essay topic as every piece of information is strung together with a ‘and the ladies in this country weren’t the only ones brewing! Women in this other country….’ It felt like a second draft at best.
• 
  vanessa

  Dnf @ 30% ish ? I’m not often a big fan of books where each chapter can stand alone. There is a thread connecting things throughout but it felt a bit like the chapters were one-off short essays. Plus, sadly, I’m not super into early history and it’s told chronologically.
• 
  Anne-Marie

  4.5 stars
  
  Girly Drinks is a fantastic overview and introduction to the women's history of alcohol and drinking - a history that's been long overdue in its recognition.
  
  I loved the conversational tone and approach O'Meara took - as someone who listens to the Reading Glasses podcast that she co-hosts, it's a very familiar tone to me. However, it might not work for some as it's also very grounded in today's references and humour.
  
  Each chapter focuses on a specific woman in a specific time period - the earlier chapters are much broader in time (and named for a specific period such as the Middle Ages with Hildegard von Bingen as the titular woman) while the latter chapters focus on centuries (16-19th) and decades (20th and 21st centuries). Each chapter also moves around the world, to give a slightly more global perspective than just solely American (though the latter chapters are more heavily American-focused).
  
  In addition to highlighting stories around the world, O'Meara emphasises intersectionality in the stories she tells and the stories she's unable to tell. The difference in experiences for white, Black, Indigenous, Asian, LGBTQ+ women, and everyone with intersecting identities was identified and explored. For example, Colonial America and Latin America had different rules and regulations on making, selling, and consuming alcohol depending on gender, race, and class.
  
  The thesis of the book argues that for every alcohol invention and stage of the process, women were at the forefront (particularly poor and/or marginalized women) until men were sufficiently scared of their roles and power outside the traditional economy/society (such that it existed) and felt threatened. Men of each society would then restrict and repeal and fine women and (often) strip them of additional rights and freedoms in order to take over the alcohol industry and commercialize it. However, women have always been able to resist in some small or large ways and continue these traditions.
  The double standards of gendered work and the devaluing of women's work in the home when it drives economies and influences ideas and trends was another key theme in Girly Drinks and one that consistently enrages me when I think about it too much.
  As an example, during Prohibition (fun fact, Canada never had a fully fledge prohibition unlike the USA though people tried) drinking moved into the home - where women have historically done all their drinking - and women were allowed into the social drinking sphere as a result. Only to be booted out once it was repealed.
  
  My main critique is that some of the inter- and intra-chapter transitions (particularly between sections in a chapter) were a little rough and jarring. And while she did a good job balancing the stories across the world (notably between Europe/USA and everyone else), the vast majority of western stories were American. The USA is very active in this space so it's logical but I would've loved learning about other countries and places as well. The stories out of South Africa, Mexico, and Japan were some of my favourites.
  
  Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book - it's an accessible and approachable micro-history of women's drinking throughout history. I learned a lot (and shared a lot of fun facts with people) and I have a new appreciation for women's roles in alcohol development, industry, consumption, and trend influences. Here's to many more years of breaking down barriers. Cheers!
  
  
  
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  Madeline

  This was a really fun, feminist, and informative read about the history of alcohol and women's involvement in the creation and consumption of alcohol. O'Meara's tone is sarcastic and witty, yet celebratory as she introduces us to legions of women who have rebelled and fought for the right to drink (in public).
  
  I think this narrative is a bit more all over the place than O'Meara's previous book, which focused more intensely on the story of one woman. Because of this wider focus, O'Meara is able to introduce stories from around the globe, which I loved. But it also makes each chapter a bit of a mishmash. While a chapter may be themed around the story of a certain woman, her story is interrupted by various short tangents that make it hard to follow the original story when it does make a reappearance. I've noticed this in a few different nonfiction books I've read recently. It seems like a common narrative construction, but I feel like most attempts end up feeling distracted and disjointed, rather than strengthened by these tangents.
  
  Regardless, I found this to be a really delightful read. As a woman who drinks (hello gin ❣️), it was so fun to learn about this history behind the practice—what alcohols were in fashion when, women's involvement with certain brands and bars, etc. Even if you're not a drinker, this history holds a lot of fun stories, so it could still be an intriguing read.
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  Emma

  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.
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  Jewlsbookblog

  I stumbled on to an eye catching cover at the library and couldn’t resist picking this one up. O’Meara’s book was an fascinating read. Containing interesting history tidbits, sometimes sarcastic zingers, and of course booze, it’s all presented in a very casual, informative way! The chapters cover decades, starting with the dawn of time and ending around 2010ish. I did think some chapters were stronger than others, especially depending on content, but overall, I enjoyed this quirky history read.
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  Alex

  A uniquely smart book, in the sense that, being a book about women drinking, it did make me, a woman, want to drink!
  There is a very unfortunate disconnect between the interesting content and the obnoxious 2015 buzzfeed girlboss feminism style, in addition to a barely coherent structure that only slightly improves once it arrives in the late 19th century