Women shaped the whisky industry before being booted out – now they’re aiming to get back in the drinking game
First Women Exclusives · October 26, 2015
Women were a large part of whisky’s past before being barred from the industry in the prohibition era. Now history is coming full circle and there’s a vanguard of new female distillers, blenders and tasters aiming to take over the market.
Before industrial distilleries were popular, females were the first distillers. The skill of making whisky was so coveted that men in the 1700s took out classified adverts looking for women who were good at distilling. It was the Match.com of the day – men would ask women to marry them based on their distilling talents.
However, there still seems to be remnants of a cultural taboo thanks to the prohibition era, where many women were not made to feel welcome in bars. But as more women are exposed to whisky once more, attitudes are shifting, and these hangups are fading away.
To find out more about the historical women who made whisky and the opinions of female distillery owners on how they are perceived today, read the full article on Real Business.
