drinkworld Technology + Marketing 1/2022

Editorial
Women of the World - We Salute You
Every year around this time it is
International Women's Day. This
brings a chance to reflect and
consider what benefits and riches
we have in our lives, because a
woman has stood up or fought for
something, just because of who she
is. Women represent less than 1% of
written history.
One day is of course not enough
to do justice to the incredible work
carried out by women everywhere,
and especially in the world of drink
technology. Here is a very small
selection from spirits and from
coffee to whet your appetite for
more. In honour of International
Women's Day the UK company The
Bottle Club (www.thebottleclub.
com), celebrated some of the most
amazing women in history.
Betsy Flanagan coined the word
'cocktail' in her Yorktown tavern
in the 1770s. Flanagan is said to
have stirred drinks decorated with
colourful rooster tails to show her
support of the rebels during the
English occupation of northern
Virginia - dubbing the term
'cocktail.' Betsy was an innovative
entrepreneur, who was witty and
successful, as stories of her legend
are still told to this day.
Raise your Margarita to Margarita
Carmen Cansino herself, better
known as Old Hollywood actress
Rita Hayworth. Rita is said to have
inspired barman Enrique Bastante
Gutierez, a former cocktail champion
who mixed drinks for some of the
world's most famous film stars, to
invent the Margarita due to her
glamour and beauty. The Margarita
has certainly stood the test of time
and is still a favourite cocktail today.
Known as the First Lady of Spirits,
Joy Spence is a Jamaican chemist
and master blender at Appleton
Estate, becoming the first female
blender in 1997. Since then, she's
created many of the blends that
made Appleton Estate famous. Her
love, expertise and personal touch
goes into each and every bottle to
produce only the finest concoctions.
Joy was the first, and today remains
only one of three women Master
Blenders in the world.
Nayana Ferguson is the first black
woman in the world to found a tequila
company. She's a pancreatic and
breast cancer survivor and cancer
awareness advocate, and initially
created Anteel for health reasons
as she wanted to enjoy cocktails
without the harmful additives.
Tequila is a spirit that is made from
the agave plant, so it is naturally
gluten free and low in carbs, sugar
and calories. Ferguson wanted to
educate people on the benefits of
tequila and change the stereotypical
thought of what tequila is.
The European Fair Trade Pioneer
GEPA in Germany (www.gepa.de)
has also paid tribute to women in
the coffee sector. The key word
Empowerment helps women to
find economic independence and
leadership. When women are strong,
society is strong.
Leiticia Vilchez is a good example
of this. Through fair prices for their
coffee cooperative in Peru, her
parents could finance her studies
Ian D. Healey
Editor-in-Chief
Photo: BB
to become a dentist. Now she can treat
and help members of the cooperative.
In Honduras twelve women learned all
about coffee roasting, as well as quality
assurance. They can now earn more
income through packaging and labelling,
keeping added value at source.
Evangelina Matute Vasquez is a coffee
farmer who has also profited from Fair
Trade. Through the sale of her organic
products she has been able to improve
storage, invested in transport and waste
reduction facilities. "Every year I have
new goals, which the cooperative helps
me to meet."
According to a World Fair Trade
Organization study, women who are
supported by their member associations
have a four times higher chance to
reach senior management positions
than those in conventional trades.
When women are strengthened, more
fairness and more effectivity is found
throughout society as a whole. Again,
we cannot underline this enough. But
International Women's Day is definitely
a start.
Cheers
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drinkworld Technology + Marketing · March 2022 3