For your Boozy Book Club: You Deserve a Drink by Mamrie Hart

You Deserve It

When the introduction to a book informs you that said book has a written-in drinking game, you know you're in for trouble... and a good time. Youtube star and avid drinker, Mamrie Hart's "You Deserve a Drink: Boozy Misadventures and Tales of Debauchery" (released today by Plume Books and available at Amazon.com for $12.57) clearly takes its title seriously. Before delving into the collection of drinking and hangover stories, readers are instructed to take a drink whenever Hart references an old television show, talks about a food product that could be purchased at 7-Eleven or uses a slang term for a reproductive organ (consider yourself warned. She does a good amount of all three). Additionally, each tale comes with its own cocktail recipe. (Either take small sips, or be prepared for drunkenness around page 12.)  Here are our top 5 reasons to start  a boozy book club and make YDAD your first book to read (in no particular order and typed while sipping a bloody mary):

1. The lesson in Chapter 1: After a drunken night leads to a chipped tooth and a life wake-up call. Hart comes to the hard realization that hard-partying friends may not be her best bet. "Sometimes, the person you've got to protect yourself from the most is yourself."
   
2. Topless Tuesdays: Mamrie had always wanted to start some kind of club. After any failures, she finally got it right in college with Topless Tuesdays. They eventually had their own official membership acceptance protocol. First thing about this: a club that encourages a liberation from social constructs is crazy cool. Second, the idea of a group of folks gathering once a week to enjoy the act of learnign something new is totally kick-ass.
   
3. The writing is pun-in-a-million. (Mamrie, we hope we did you proud with that one.) Seriously, though, if you love a good pun the way the SNB squad does, you will get a kick (or 5) out of this book. Seriously... all types of pun envy over here. Mamrie Hart is the queen of puns.
   
4. Quickshots!: No complex cocktail recipes. Only instructions to take a reader's-choice shot- straight and a few abbreviated anecdotes. Call it drinkers' digest.
   
5. No need to read in sequential order. Seriously, with this book you can jump around. (90s music reference. Pretend I'm talking about TV and take a drink!) Since the stories aren't in sequential order, you (and your book club) can litterally skip from chapter 1 to chapter 10 and back to chapter 4 (depending on what cocktail ingredients are readily available on when you meet on Topless Tuesday). See what we did there?

Now that you have our top 5 reasons, please excuse us while we chat with Mamrie for a bit.

Mamrie, first off, we can't wait until we can swap troll stories with you... actually we can't wait until we actually have trolls instead of just spammers. (You're nobody 'til somebody hates on you, right? Secondly, do we drink when there are references to old movies as well as old TV shows? Lastly, in the first "Quickshots" chapter, you instruct us to take a shot, and then two lines down, you insert a trigger word. For that, dear friend, we are tempted to affectionately call you a trigger word. All jokes aside, dear, thanks for sharing your debacles with us. They help us see we're not alone, and if we keep a sense of humor about things, they might just turn into a dope ass book.

Booze Clues: 5 Fun Facts about Women and Whiskey

Booze & Broads

It's International Women's Day, and though the wine and spirits industry is often seen as a man's world, women have been not only influential but also instrumental in its creation and success. Did you know that Sumerian women invented beer more than 4000 years ago, or that an Egyptian woman invented the alembic still (which is the predecessor to the stills currently used to make whiskey)? I learned these and a host of other interesting facts while reading Whiskey Women: The Untold Story of How Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch and Irish Whiskey by Fred Minnick (released in 2013 and currently available at Amazon.com). Here are five more things you probably didn't know about the integral roles women have played:

1. Women who made early whiskey were accused of witchcraft. Before whiskey (or whisky in Canada and and Scotland) got it's current name, a distilled mix of fermented grain, herbs and water was called uisge-beatha, the Gaelic term for "water of life." Women in Ireland often created their own recipes for the mix and sold it at markets. It eventually made its way to England, where the demand became so high that it started being produced in larger scales and officially taxed. The English had trouble pronouncing "uisge-beatha", so they began calling it whiskey, and the term was also applied to Scottish distilled-grain spirits. Eventually, many of the women who made and sold whiskey and its unaged cousin, poitín (moonshine's ancestor) were accused of witchcraft, some even burned at the stake.
   
   
   
2. Johnnie Walker owes a large amount of its success to a woman. When Elizabeth Cummings' husband, Lewis died in 1872, he left her with three small sons (including one who hadn't yet been born) and a whisky business. Though she could have sold the Cardow distillery and farm, she decided to keep and run the business. She eventually acquired an additional four acres of land and built a new distillery to keep her competitive status in the growing whiskey industry. She sold the Old Cardow distillery to William Grant in 1886. However she kept the new distillery, slowly transferring more and more responsibility to her son, John. In 1892, he was unable to meet the demands of the market, and the Cardow distillery was sold to John Walker & Sons Limited, which later became Johhnie Walker.
   
   

   

   Elizabeth Cummings

3. Prohibition in America surprisingly favored the female. Women who were arrested for illegally producing and or selling alcohol often received lighter sentences than their male counterparts. Further, Women who were suspected of carrying moonshine on their persons were seldom searched because male officers were too "shy" (and in some states legally unable) to frisk women. Many women also had charm on their side and lashes to bat (yay for womanly wiles!). It became clear that female revenue agents were needed, and Miss Georgia Hopley was the first one hired. Her success encouraged various other departments to hire women.
   
   

   

   Miss Georgia Hopley

   
   
4. There was only one known female Scotch whiskey distiller during the 20th century. Soon after graduating from Glasgow University, Elizabeth "Bessie" Williamson became a shorthand typist at the Laphroaig distillery. She quickly proved to be an asset and was often asked to manage the distillery when the owner, Ian Hunter, traveled for business. When Ian, who perfected Laphroaig's flavor profile, suffered a stroke in 1938, he asked Williams to take over the U.S. affairs of the business. She took over all of Hunter's responsibilities right before the start of WWII.  During the war, the government ceased whiskey production (grains were needed for food instead of whisky) and used the Laphroaig distillery as an armory. However, Bessie prevented them from completely disabling the facility and distributing the whisky there among the soldiers. She also kept the trademarks and other necessary documents current so that after the war was over business could resume. She took ownership of the business and ran it until 1972, converting the preference of many American customers from blended to single malt Scotch in the process.
   
   

   

   Elizabeth "Bessie" Williamson

5. A woman is responsible for the design of the Maker's Mark bottle, label and signature red wax seal. Bill Samuels Sr., a sixth generation whiskey distiller contemplated starting his own brand for years after selling his father's T.W. Samuels distillery. His wife, Marge Samuels eventually told him to "get off his ass" and get to it. She placed two conditions on her blessing for and support of the new venture: it couldn't be like harsh whiskey his father had produced, and she wanted to create the bottle. At that time, most bottles of whiskey looked similar, and she wanted the new product to stand out in both flavor and appearance. French bottles inspired her with their artistry and wax-sealed corks. After many hours and prototypes, Marge created a bottle, label and wax seal that made her proud. She named the product "Maker's Mark" because as a pewter collector, she always searched for the mark of the maker, and she wanted customers to feel like they were purchasing a collectible of sorts. Marge was inducted into the Bourbon Hall of Fame last year.

Marge and Bill Samuels Sr.

There are so many more stories of women's contribution to the whiskey world — and the spirits world in general. And these days we're making huge strides toward equality and toward erasing the idea that women can't enjoy (or be) strong, intense spirits. Happy International Women's day. Cheers to you!

*Fine Print: All images are courtesy images. Shoes N Booze is an amazon affiliate, so if you purchase an item here that links to an amazon page.

Gift Guide: Miscellany for Lushes and Lovers of Shoes

All They Want For Christmas

If your friends and family are anything like me, they love gifts with a bit of kitsch. This is kinda-sorta my wishlist to Santa, but it's also a guide to some great gifts for the imbibers and footwear-philes in your life.

Drink-friendly Stocking Stuffers

1. For the one who always seems to have #spinachteeth- Daneson Bourbon Toothpicks (available at Daneson.com) 
2. For the one who actually makes cocktails at home instead of just mixing juice and liquor- the Bar10der home bar tool includes a jigger (1 oz & .5 oz), reamer, muddler, stirrer, strainer, knife, corkscrew, zester, bottle opener. (available at Restoration Hardware)
3. For the hipster who's almost too into the concept of BYOB- Conductor Flask by W & P Design. (Available at Creeds Collective Pop-up Shop in NYC #CCPop)
4. For the shoe lover who enjoys a good brew- It's a Shoe Thing! Bottle Opener by Kate Aspen (available at Amazon.com)
5. For the Cougartown fan- Shoe print corkscrew (available at Amazon.com)
6. For the chronic spiller- Wine Wipes individually wrapped stain removers (available at Winewipes.com)

Globetrotter/ Girl-on-the-Go Gifts

1. For the one who frequents hotel bars- "Make Mine a Double" wallet (available at The Icing) 
2. For the one who still checks luggage- Shoe Luggage Tag and Cocktail Luggage Tag (both available at Target) 
3. For the perpetual errand runner- Yes Way Rose Tote bag (available at yeswayrose.com) 
4. For the passport stamp collector who can pack a week's worth of clothes and shoes into a carry-on bag- Packing List Tee by 3rd Culture (available at 3rdculturestyle.com)
5. For the busy bee who keeps extra shoes in her purse- 5-Pack of Shoe Organizing Bags by Bag-all (available at bag-all.com) dust bags 

The Boozy Book Club

1. For the one who's counting calories— but still likes to par-tay: Skinnygirl Cocktails: 100 Fun & Flirty Guilt-Free Recipes by Bethenny Frankel (Simon and Schuster/ available at Amazon.com)
2. For the one who speaks like Dickens— and drinks like Hemingway: Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist by Tim Federle (available at Running Press Book Publishers and Amazon.com)
3. For the one who's into sweets — and just as into drinks: Candy Cocktails: Fun and Flirthy Drinks with a Sugar-Kissed Twist by Flannery Good and Katherine Good (available at Running Press Book Publishers and Amazon.com)
4. For the one slinging sippy cups— while sneaking in a cocktail here and there: Hickory Daiquiry Dock: Cocktails with a Nursery Rhyme Twist by Tim Federle (available at Running Press Book Publishers and Amazon.com)
5. For the one who's dubbed herself a mixologist— and has the home bar kit to prove it: Alchemy in a Glass: The Essential Guide to Handcrafted Cocktails by Greg Seider (Rizzoli/ available at Amazon.com)

Shoe-Gazers

1. For the visionary thinker- Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe by Lisa Small, Sefano Tonch, Caroline Weber (Prestel USA/ available at Amazon.com)
2. For the walking encyclopedia in your crew- Shoes: An Illustrated History by Rebecca Shawcross (Bloomsbury Visual Arts/ available at Amazon.com)
3. For the friend whose shoes speak louder than her words- Shoetopia: Contemporary Footwear by Sue Huey (Laurence King Publishing/ available at Amazon.com)
4. For the Daphne Guiness stan- For the Love of Shoes by Patrice Farameh (teNeues/ available at Amazon.com)
5. For the purist- The Shoe Book by Nancy MacDonnell (Assouline/ available at Amazon.com)

... And The Rest

1. For the one who likes to to sip (or spill) tea (that just might be spiked)- Cheeky Teacup (available at Urban Outfitters) 
2. For the one who needs to keep dates straight- Stir & Shake Mixology Calendar (available at artsymodern.com)
3. For the label whore- Disaronno Wears Versace Limited Edition Bottle 
4. For the who put the sniff in snifter- Jonathan Adler Bourbon Pop Candle (available at Jonathan Adler) 
5. For the lover of street art- Rhum Clement 125th Limited Edition bottle designed by Jonone 

*The Fine Print: Courtesy photos. Shoes N Booze has received complimentary samples of some of the items mentioned here. Shoes N Booze is an Amazon.com affiliate and receives commission when linked products are purchased.