Celebrating the leading ladies of the drinks industry

We’d like to add our tuppence worth too by rewinding back a few years to when we, together with our friends at Cointreau, first shone a light on a few of our favourite females in the drinks industry. Much more than a series of photographs of inspiring women perfectly captured by Johnnie Pakington in London and Shannon Sturgis in New York, the aim was to inform and inspire, showcasing the wealth of opportunities that exist in the drinks biz. Not just for guys but for girls who want to call the shots too.

From bartenders to brand ambassadors, heads of advocacy to heads of new product development, master distillers to master blenders, there are no limits to what can be achieved for women in the world of drinks. In fact, as I say in my interview on 31Dover.com about this very same subject. “If you want to be an assistant, be an assistant but if you want to be the boss, be the fucking boss!”

The following women, some from London, some from New York, are all bosses in our minds. Read about them in the Leading Ladies of London Drinks, issue 12 (way back in summer 2014), and Leading Ladies of New York drinks, issue 19 (spring 2016), as they share details of the possession that means most to them in their careers and their take on the best thing about being a woman in the drinks industry. The photos are oldies but goodies and the women featured are all absolutely amazing.

It’s a project we hope to continue worldwide taking in the many women who inspire us for the incredible work they do every day, including Genevieve Jodhan (CEO Angostura, Trinidad); Joy Spence (Master Blender, Appleton and Wray & Nephew Rum, Jamaica); Carina Soto Velasquez (CEO Quixotic Projects and co-owner Candelaria, Glass, Le Mary Celeste, Paris); Mia Johansson (Bar owner, Swift, London); Ylva Binder (found, Rhuby, Sweden); Joanne Moore (Master Distiller, Greenall’s Gin, UK); Stephanie Polly Simbo (Beyond Bars, Cape Town); Alexis Brown (Causing A Stir, Chicago); Audrey Saunders (queen of awesomeness, New York); Lauren Mote (Cocktail Ambassador, co-director, Bittered Sling, Vancouver); Karine Tillard (Patrón UK Ambassador); Simona Bianco (Head of Brand Ambassadors & Innovation Manager, Disaronno, Milan), Tess Posthumus (co-owner The Flying Dutchman, Amsterdam), and Lorena Vasquez (Master Distiller, Zacapa Rum, Guatemala). Ladies of drinks, we salute you.