Whiskey Women


Book Description

Shortly after graduating from University of Glasgow in 1934, Elizabeth “Bessie” Williamson began working as a temporary secretary at the Laphroaig Distillery on the Scottish island Islay. Williamson quickly found herself joining the boys in the tasting room, studying the distillation process, and winning them over with her knowledge of Scottish whisky. After the owner of Laphroaig passed away, Williamson took over the prestigious company and became the American spokesperson for the entire Scotch whisky industry. Impressing clients and showing her passion as the Scotch Whisky Association’s trade ambassador, she soon gained fame within the industry, becoming known as the greatest female distiller. Whiskey Women tells the tales of women who have created this industry, from Mesopotamia’s first beer brewers and distillers to America’s rough-and-tough bootleggers during Prohibition. Women have long distilled, marketed, and owned significant shares in spirits companies. Williamson’s story is one of many among the influential women who changed the Scotch whisky industry as well as influenced the American bourbon whiskey and Irish whiskey markets. Until now their stories have remained untold.




Whiskey, Women, and War


Book Description

As the US entered World War I in 1917, a burst of patriotism in New Orleans collided with civil liberties. The city, due to its French heritage, shared a strong cultural tie to the Allies, and French speakers from Louisiana provided vital technical assistance to the US military during the war effort. Meanwhile, citizens of German heritage were harassed by unscrupulous, ill-trained volunteers of the American Protective League, ordained by the Justice Department to shield America from enemies within. As a major port, the wartime mobilization dramatically reshaped the cultural landscape of the city in ways that altered the national culture, especially as jazz musicians spread outward from the vice districts. Whiskey, Women, and War: How the Great War Shaped Jim Crow New Orleans surveys the various ways the city confronted the demands of World War I under the supervision of a dynamic political machine boss. Author Brian Altobello analyzes the mobilization of the local population in terms of enlistments and war bond sales and addresses the anti-vice crusade meant to safeguard the American war effort, giving attention to Prohibition and the closure of the red-light district known as Storyville. He studies the political fistfight over women’s suffrage, as New Orleans’s Gordon sisters demanded the vote predicated on the preservation of white supremacy. Finally, he examines race relations in the city, as African Americans were integrated into the city’s war effort and cultural landscape even as Jim Crow was firmly established. Ultimately, the volume brings to life this history of a city that endured World War I in its own singular style.




Vicious Cycle


Book Description

Most fisherman don't really fish just to catch fish. While we might appear to only fill our boats with fish, the reality is fishing fills our hearts with purpose. Many of us don't conform to land well, or even at all. We often find ourselves more lost on dirt and grass than a parakeet in the middle of the ocean. The rogue nature of men who often live in vast waters without roads and traffic signs makes for a bad fit in a society filled with rules and regulations. Our relationship with the opposite sex is perhaps the most difficult aspect of being a fisherman. We often fight a winless battle between our primordial desire to be accepted and loved versus the unrelenting beckoning of the ocean. A fisherman has two lives: the one where he stares at sea from land and the life where he stares at land from sea. For the fisherman, the question is not whether joy or pain are on the horizon for they've come to learn that both live hand in hand. The sea teaches men they cannot appreciate joy without knowing pain, and pain is not fully recognized without first experiencing joy. Loads of fish and welcoming arms are the Ying to the Yang in the darkest nights, both at sea and ashore. Despite being shackled to both like an anchor to a chain, fisherman will forever be hopelessly torn apart so long as the sea has fish, and the land has women. Vicious Cycle is a collection of the author's personal tales from the sea and personal battles on land, likely resonating with every man who calls the sea home. Geer loved the ocean before he even truly knew the definition of love. He spent his lifetime trying to be nothing more than accepted as a fisherman. Now, he shares those stories and those challenges with you. This book is for those that understand that beauty can be found in something that seemingly possess no traits of the traditional definition of beautiful.




How to Be a Bourbon Badass


Book Description

There is no right or wrong way to drink bourbon—in a cocktail, straight up, on the rocks, or with a splash of soda. You will never know which is your way until you try them all, and How to Be a Bourbon Badass will guide you on the path of your own bourbon adventure. In How to Be a Bourbon Badass, Linda Ruffenach tells the story of her own personal journey with bourbon and shares behind-the-scenes tales from bourbon industry experts and rock stars. She captures the storied history of America’s native spirit, explains the process of making liquid gold, and offers top-notch cocktail, dinner, and dessert recipes for the novice and connoisseur alike. From tales of legendary master distillers to stories of women whose lives were changed through newfound bourbon badass confidence, and from recipes for classics like the bourbon highball to fresh twists like strawberry bourbon lemonade with rosemary, Linda Ruffenach will redefine your perceptions of bourbon and those who savor it. Your journey to becoming a bourbon badass begins here.




Whiskey in a Teacup


Book Description

Academy Award–winning actress, producer, and entrepreneur Reese Witherspoon invites you into her world, where she infuses the southern style, parties, and traditions she loves with contemporary flair and charm. Reese Witherspoon’s grandmother Dorothea always said that a combination of beauty and strength made southern women “whiskey in a teacup.” We may be delicate and ornamental on the outside, she said, but inside we’re strong and fiery. Reese’s southern heritage informs her whole life, and she loves sharing the joys of southern living with practically everyone she meets. She takes the South wherever she goes with bluegrass, big holiday parties, and plenty of Dorothea’s fried chicken. It’s reflected in how she entertains, decorates her home, and makes holidays special for her kids—not to mention how she talks, dances, and does her hair (in these pages, you will learn Reese’s fail-proof, only slightly insane hot-roller technique). Reese loves sharing Dorothea’s most delicious recipes as well as her favorite southern traditions, from midnight barn parties to backyard bridal showers, magical Christmas mornings to rollicking honky-tonks. It’s easy to bring a little bit of Reese’s world into your home, no matter where you live. After all, there’s a southern side to every place in the world, right?




Whiskey Distilled


Book Description

Offers a basic primer on whiskey and whiskey drinking, looking at the characteristics of different types of whiskey, the distillation process, and appreciation tips.




A Good Drink


Book Description

"In A Good Drink, Farrell goes in search of the bars, distillers, and farmers who are driving a transformation to sustainable spirits. She meets mezcaleros in Guadalajara who are working to preserve traditional ways of producing mezcal, for the health of the local land, the wallets of the local farmers, and the culture of the community. She visits distillers in South Carolina who are bringing a rare variety of corn back from near extinction to make one of the most sought-after bourbons in the world. She meets a London bar owner who has eliminated individual bottles and ice, acculturating drinkers to a new definition of luxury."--Amazon.




Whiskey and Wild Women


Book Description




Whiskey Words & a Shovel III


Book Description

r.h. Sin’s final volume in the Whiskey, Words, and a Shovel series expands on the passion and vigor of his first two installments. His stanzas inspire strength through the raw, emotional energy and the vulnerability of his poems. Relationships, love, pain, and fortitude are powerfully rendered in his poetry, and his message of perseverance in the face of emotional turmoil cuts to the heart of modern-day life. At roughly 300 pages, this culminating volume will be his lengthiest yet.




The Whitney Women and the Museum They Made


Book Description

At a time when American millionaires and institutions invested only in European art, Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney took the risk of collecting and showing the paintings of American contemporary artists. In 1931, the institution called The Whitney Museum of American Art was officially born. After Gertrude's death in 1943, her daughter Flora took the helm, which she in turn passed on to her daughter, Flora Biddle, who here chronicles the life and times of three generations of Whitney women. Today, the museum is thriving as one of the most prestigious homes for American art.