Get Familiar With These Women in Booze

by Sydney Blanchard

Since November 2014, our Chief Confusion Coordinator/Spin Doctor (and contributing blogger) Blair Loup has interviewed the women running the local booze scene. Each month, we feature one of these women and their experiences on the blog.

We've learned from them that it can be exciting (and at times difficult) working in the booze industry, a primarily male-dominated environment.

We're all about ensuring these women's voices and stories are heard and that they get the props they deserve for being the movers and (cocktail) shakers behind our drinking habit.

Read all about these killer women below, and be sure to check back with us each month to read about a new woman (in booze)!

Natalie Parbhoo, Duchess of Distribution

International Wine & Spirits

"First getting into it, the woman I replaced was only the second female representative in the city, so people just didn't take me seriously. They wasted a lot of my time flirting with me and never bought anything. That's when I realized I needed to be super aggressive to sell." 

Lindsay Nations, Baronness of Beer

Co-Founder and Vice President of Great Raft Brewing 

"I can't grow a beard and be the typical face of the company in the brewing industry, but there are so many things that would fall apart if I left one day. You don't get to be the face of the company when you don't fit the stereotype sometimes."

Dori Murvin, Sorceress of Service

Manager and Wine Director at Beausoleil Restaurant

"I love working here. The food's good, the wine's good, it's just a good place. I don't have a poker face. I have to work somewhere I believe in."

Nora McGunnigle, Head Mistress of Hops

Craft beer writer/blogger

"I definitely feel like it took me a long, long time for people to take me seriously as a beer person."

Myrna Arroyo, Vino Valedictorian

Owner of Roux Wine Tours

“I really enjoy helping people discover wine, it’s as simple as that!”

Brandi Lauck, Warden of Whiskey

Co-owner of Lock and Key Whiskey Bar

"It’s always been Arthur’s dream to own a bar, but what’s really cool is that it’s become an outlet for the creativity and the passion that I have for women and their understanding of whiskey," she said. "This has been a great opportunity to ‘be on stage’ and bring my knowledge of whiskey to other females that are interested."

Cari Caramonta, Mother of Malts

Co-founder and Creative Director of Gnarly Barley Brewing

“Personally, I love building the business. I enjoy marketing and branding. I think it’s cool that we bring a different dynamic to the table."

Erin White, Priestess of Pairing

Sommelier at August

“If you make a list of all of the things I love, it all incorporates into wine. There’s an artistic sense of color, fragrance, food, cooking, and people; for me, it all kind of funneled into one category.”

Beth Donner, Dame of Distilling

Co-founder, Co-Owner, and President of Donner-Peltier Distillery

"It’s a male dominant industry, you know? It is what it is."

Halston McMullan, Hustler of Houston Hops

Louisiana Sales representative for St. Arnold Brewing

"The more I learn about this company and the more I have to fight for it, the more it becomes a part of me. I didn’t know I’d be so proud."

Libby Landry, Governess of Grapes

"We’d pack up the boys and live in the old barn showering with a water hose until each harvest was complete. That was our life for a while."

Abigail Gullo, Leading Lady of Libation

Bartender at Compère Lapin

"Women may be known as bartenders, but men are 'mixologists.' I feel like I’ve missed out on a few jobs because I don’t have a mustache.”

Mary Lewis, Superintendent of Suds

Sales Manager at Mockler Beverage Company

“My job now is to motivate my team. I don’t want my guys to think I’m just the lady that sits in the office."

Brea Frederick, Vixen of Vermouth

Bartender at Olive or Twist

“Being a woman in this industry is challenging, but being a lesbian in this industry makes things even more difficult."