Book Review: Whiskey Women

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Book Review: Whiskey Women

Unread postby bourbonv » Sun Nov 02, 2014 10:28 am

Whiskey Women: The Untold Story of How Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch and Irish Whiskey, Fred Minnick, University of Nebraska Press: Potomac Books, 2013. Table of Contents, Bibliography, Notes, Illustrations, Index. 195 pp.

Fred Minnick has written a book that was long overdue. Women have played an important role in the whiskey business, but until now received very little attention or credit. Minnick does an excellent job in righting this wrong. He explores women that were directly involved in the industry by being owners or managers of distilleries. He also looks at women who were indirectly involved such as prostitutes who sold whiskey to their customers and women moonshiners who kept food on the table by making whiskey and selling it illegally. Women also made the best bootleggers, particularly during prohibition, because for many years it was hard to search women for hidden bottles. Minnick also points out that male bootleggers would have pretty women ride in the car with them because they were less likely to get pulled over and searched if such a woman was along for the ride. The book is filled with many interesting and sometimes amusing stories about women and the industry. Minnick also looks at the role women played in the Temperance Movement as well as the role women played in the repeal of prohibition.

The book is very well designed and laid out in a more or less chronological manner, but also by subject. It is a history that is often confusing and Minnick has done an excellent job bring order to the chaos that is the history of the whiskey industry. There are many excellent photographs in the book. Many are historical images, but just as many new images of women in the industry when the book was written. Minnick is an excellent photographer and these later images are some of his work. The book is well indexed and has a bibliography and chapter notes for the reader who wishes to explore subjects further.

This book is an excellent addition to a Bourbon Library. It is well written and covers many women involved directly in the Bourbon industry. It should be noted as well that the women involved in Scotch and Irish whiskey business also had an impact on the American market, so they too are valuable resources for the history of Bourbon.
Mike Veach
"Our people live almost exclusively on whiskey" - E H Taylor, Jr. 25 April 1873
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Re: Book Review: Whiskey Women

Unread postby bourbonv » Mon Nov 03, 2014 5:32 pm

I should also add that with fred's book there were several times when i said to myself that I should I do a second edition of my book, I should look into adding this to the history. Fred did some very good historical research for this book.
Mike Veach
"Our people live almost exclusively on whiskey" - E H Taylor, Jr. 25 April 1873
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bourbonv
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Location: Louisville, Ky.


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