Women In Beverage

BY MELISSA DOWLING

Celebrating some of the women shaking up the beverage industry

For instance , Madame Clicquot , widowed at age 27 , took over her late husband ’ s wine business in 1805 . She invented the riddling rack / process for making Champagne and made Veuve Clicquot one of the leading Champagnes in the world .

Then there ’ s Catherine Spears Frye Carpenter , who created the first known recipe for sour mash in whiskey production in Kentucky in 1818 .

Ada Coleman , named head bartender at The American Bar at London ’ s The Savoy hotel in 1903 , was first female “ bar star ” and creator of the Hanky Panky cocktail . We can thank Margie Samuels for the Maker ’ s Mark name and for the bourbon brand ’ s signature red wax seal in the 1950s . Madeline Triffon blazed a trail as the first American woman — and second woman in the world — to pass the Master Sommelier examination in 1987 .

Kim Jordan , a craft beer pioneer , cofounded New Belgium Brewing in 1991 . Marianne Eaves , Kentucky ’ s first female master distiller in 2015 , recently launched a new whiskey education program called EAVES Blind . And that ’ s barely scratching the surface of contributions women have made to the industry .

We reached out to some of the influential women in beverage alcohol today to learn more about their backgrounds , inspirations and role models , and what it means to be a leader in the industry today . Here ’ s to them , and all who came before them , as well as those now on their way up .

Mixologist Julia Momose is not only partner and creative director at Kumiko , a Japanese dining bar in Chicago , she also pioneered the spirit-free drink movement and pushed for allowing cocktails to-go in Illinois during the pandemic .

How did you get into the beverage alcohol business ? I started off in hospitality when I was in high school in Japan . Watching the bartenders there made me fall in love with it all . When I moved to America for university , I started working in bars and restaurants to help pay for school . When I finally got behind the bar , I never looked back .

To be able to take people ’ s frustrations and celebrations , and serve them a drink or feed them food that brings them peace and makes them happy — it ’ s a feeling I absolutely love .

What makes you a successful leader ? Success is such a hard thing to define . It ’ s different for everyone . I don ’ t see success as a single endpoint , but the journey of the path you walk . And sometimes it won ’ t be as straight as you think it is .

Think of the idea of perfection : You ’ re constantly pursuing it , but can never quite achieve it . To me , success comes in bettering yourself everyday towards an unattainable ideal . To go towards success is success in itself .

Julie Momose

How important is mentorship ? Did you receive any coming up , and is that something you provide to women in your organization ? I didn ’ t have many mentors coming up , per se . I came up at a time when there weren ’ t many women behind the bar , unlike today . Those who were in it experienced some level of harassment and discrimination , but I was glad that many of us women bartenders banded together and looked out for each other .

All these years later , I ’ m happy to have found myself in the position of mentoring other women in the industry . There ’ s a women ’ s bartending competition called Speed Rack , and I ’ m lucky to be the mentor of a wonderful bartender in Washington , D . C . We talk and set goals together , and I get inspired when I talk to her .

What inspired you to write the Spirit-free Manifesto in 2017 ? My parents don ’ t drink alcohol , so I was always working on non-alcoholic drinks ; it ’ s really important for me . When I worked at the Michelin-starred restaurant GreenRiver , I remember people coming to the bar , almost embarrassed to ask for a mocktail . Their brows crinkled and they ’ d almost

6 2021 Women in Beverage