Strawberry daiquiris. Skinny martinis. Vodka sodas with lime. These are the cocktails that come in sleek-stemmed glasses, bright colours and fruity flavours - these are the Girly Drinks.
From the earliest days of civilization, alcohol has been at the centre 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 goddess Ninkasi to iconic 1920s bartender Ada Coleman. 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.
‘Girly Drinks is anything but - a raw shot of boozy history that stings as well as it soothes!’ - Patton Oswalt
‘[A] thorough, and thoroughly entertaining, history… Elegantly woven into each cheeky chapter is rigorous historical context… O'Meara glides easily from the 17th-century pulquerias of Mexico to the feminine 'fern bars’ of the 1970s, making sure to not to forget the queen of girly drinks: the Cosmopolitan. Provoking both thought and laughter, this serves as bracing refreshment from a master textual mixologist.‘ - Publishers Weekly, starred review
'At last, the feminist history of booze we’ve been waiting for!’ - Amy Stewart, author of The Drunken Botanist
‘Feminist and very funny… O'Meara deftly blends in equal measures of social history, gossip, and solid research, and adds enjoyable footnotes… women have discovered, invented, advanced, championed, and celebrated alcohol.’ - Booklist
‘This is a book that should be on any beverage alcohol enthusiast’s shelf.’ - American Whiskey Magazine
‘[In Girly Drinks] Mallory O'Meara… returns to the realm of historically overlooked women who did extremely cool sh*t with a feminist history of drinking through the ages.’ - Lit Hub
‘An insightful, entertaining feminist history of women and alcohol through the ages.’ - USA Today
‘With this lively book Mallory O'Meara has provided a real service, giving us not only a long-overdue new perspective on a great many familiar issues, but also raising all kinds of other issues that are unfamiliar and shouldn’t be.’ - David Wondrich, author of Imbibe
‘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
