Whether whiskey has gotten a fair shake on the silver screen, as compared to wine and beer, might be best left to movie-obsessed cineastes to quibble over.
That the spirit is often portrayed as something only quaffed via shots, and not via more complex cocktails, cannot be quibbled over. Nor can a film fan argue that it is oftentimes a film's male characters drinking whiskey, while women on screen typically reach for the wine glass.
But whiskey's off-screen profile has been on the rise-and-rise in recent decades, moving from unnamed chaser in a beer back to the deep-toned star of star libations featured above the popular martinis on a menu. Libations, it should be added, which are regularly ordered by women in the real world, despite what popular culture has long told us.
Look to Women Who Whiskey, a multi-chapter outfit that's appeared in the pages of the LA Weekly and other publications since its local kick-off in March 2016.
The group has a longer history, though, with roots in New York City in 2011. "We were tired of hearing, 'Whoa, that's a strong drink for a little lady! Sure you can handle it?" writes founder Julia Ritz Toffoli on the Women Who Whiskey web site. That oft-repeated query led to a movement that now boasts thousands of members in cities across the country.
Member events range from dinners complemented by the amber-hued liquid to no-host meet-ups. Picture the sort of get-togethers that encourage wide-ranging conversation topics, from the best Old Fashioned/Sazerac/Julep the participants ever had to matters that range far and wide beyond what's on sombody's spirits shelf back at home.
Joining a chapter is a snap, and the "Gentlemen Join Here" button, which appears alongside the "Ladies Join Here" option, spreads the inclusive, celebratory feeling even wider.
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And finding a local event? Check out the LA chapter's Facebook page for all the up-to-date doings.
Will popular culture soon change to reflect reality? That characters can quaff whatever they please on-screen, be they female or male, without their choices being dictated by the mores of the past?
Soon long-gone patterns may languish in the fictional world, while here on this side of the screen Women Who Whiskey members gather down at the local watering hole for a crisply made cocktail and some positive, community-cool connection.
