24 Woman-Led Spirits Brands To Toast Women's History Month

Distilling is an ancient profession that has undoubtedly been dominated by men, often discouraging participation from women. Despite spirit-making being centuries old, the first known woman to have owned and run a distillery was Bessie Williamson, who took over the institutional Laphroaig distillery in Islay, Scotland in 1944, notes Scotch Whisky.

Luckily, as women like Lorena Vasquez, Joy Spence, and Jassil Villanueva Quintana have helped push distilling into the 21st century, more and more women are working at distilleries, opening up their own, and kickstarting their own brands. Today, there are countless woman-owned spirits brands out there, and while there remains a sharp disparity within the profession, the industry does, thankfully, seem to be tipping in the favor of equity.

In honor of Women's History Month, here are some woman-led spirits brands to help you celebrate the strides women around the world have made and continue to make in distilling and the spirits industry.

Spice Note is another line of infused tequilas, although this one is a spice-forward as opposed to fruit. Spice Note was founded by Sheetal Bhagat in 2018, per Alcohol Professor. If the name sounds familiar, that is because Bhagat was a contestant in the very first season of MasterChef, on which she finished in fourth place. So in case a spice-infused tequila had you skeptical, you can rest assured its founder is more than credible.

Bottles in the Spice Note lineup include Spice Note Cumin and Spice Note Cinnamon, which are naturally infused with spices and are inspired by the fusion of East Indian and Mexican cuisines made by Bhegat's mother growing up. Spice Note is a simple and delicious way to instantly add an extra layer of depth to any cocktail, or you can enjoy this flavorful spirit alone.

Babel Gin came out of Marva and Myriam Babel's cocktail bar, "Ode to Babel," located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. A few years into the venture, the sister team created their very own spirit to go along with the business.

The ever-present juniper berry is supported by ingredients indigenous to the Caribbean, Africa, and Pacific Islands. The result is a botanically rich gin with flavors of cinnamon, jasmine, makrut lime, and ylang-ylang, a tropical tree that originated in the Philippines.

A spirit crafted specifically for a cocktail lounge is sure to be great for mixing, and this unique and layered gin is an excellent one to support if you are ever looking to go beyond the usual, mainstream brands. Babel Gin also recommends its spirit be sipped straight, which is definitely a less common way to enjoy the spirit. Nevertheless, a gin this flavorful and complex does not require any external support.

C. Cassis is a woman-owned brand that is crafting a spirit you may not have known you needed on your home bar. Creme de cassis is a black currant liqueur that is used in classic cocktails like Trader Vic's El Diablo, and modern classics like the Bourbon Renewal by Jeffrey Morgenthaler.

The black currant liqueur by C. Cassis is an excellent expression of the spirit made by Rachael Petach in the Hudson Valley of New York. Petach uses fresh black currants grown locally to make this liqueur, which is quite rare to find in the U.S. considering a ban on growing the crop is still in effect in most U.S. states.

C. Cassis is a 16% ABV liqueur that is lightly fermented with an amount of sweetness that is not overpowering. It is refreshing and balanced enough to sip on its own and wonderfully fit for mixing into cocktails. As one of the few American-made blackcurrant liqueurs available, C. Cassis is well worth taking advantage of.

Freeland Spirits is a distillery based in Portland, Oregon that is not only a woman-founded and owned distillery and brand, but it is also entirely run by women.

After the release of its first gin in 2017, founder Jill Kuelher expanded production with Freeland Bourbon. After releasing a couple of canned cocktails featuring its spirits, Freeland added another gin to its repertoire, this one a navy-strength dry gin as well as a bottle of geneva.

Kuehler is proud of her distillery and the role it plays in putting women at the helm in a male-dominated industry. Freeland Spirits is a celebration of women in distilling — that includes everyone from the Master Distiller all the way to the farmers growing the grains are women, making it one of the few distilleries of its kind. Kuelher is also keen to point out that women are born with more taste buds than men, an advantage well worth noting when it comes to making booze.

Harridan Vodka's founder, Bridgette Taylor, may not exactly be a harridan, but her passion for great spirits has surely led to a very well-made vodka that actually is spiritual experience.

Harridan Vodka is made in upstate New York using locally grown corn, which makes the vodka naturally gluten-free. While the distillation of grains to make vodka removes most of, if not all, the gluten present, doing so from corn makes it a sure thing. So, drinkers with strict gluten-free diets can enjoy Harridan just as much as anyone, another reason why one of the vodkas on your home bar should be this one.

One of its other two vodkas is the Midsummer Reserve, which is rested during the lunar eclipse in May, and the other is the Paranormal Reserve, of which only 666 bottles were released and were rested in a paranormal museum. Who thought vodka could be so spooky? 

This next spirits brand is another unique one, making honey the lifeblood of its operation. Catskill Provisions was founded by Claire M. Marin and originally started out as a hobby, but the hobby was not distilling. Instead, the brand was born out of beekeeping and is just one sector of Marin's business. Catskill Provisions strives to create products, including spirits and artisanal food items, using sustainably and ethically-sourced honey from its hundreds of beehives throughout upstate New York.

Honey is a natural friend to spirits, as the malt and barrel notes of whiskeys and botanicals found in gins are both complimented by it. Every one of Catskill Provisions' spirits is either distilled from honey, aged in honey barrels, or features the nectar in some way. A percentage of all sales is donated to bee and pollination conservation efforts, so supporting this unique brand of spirits is worth it in more ways than one.

Uncle Nearest is a whiskey brand with origins that date all the way back to the 1850s, when it was run by Nearest Green. Green began distilling while enslaved in Tennessee and continued doing so as a free man after the Civil War ended.

Today, over a century later, the brand is Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey and is owned by Fawn Weaver, who founded the brand through her investment firm in 2016. Since then, the brand has grown from one state to being ing distributed to all 50, and is one of the most awarded American whiskey brands of the past five years.

Uncle Nearest produces seven different American whiskies, all compiling awards on the international stage, as well as the award for Master Blender Of The Year from Whisky Magazine, going to Victoria Eady Butler in 2022. If you like bourbon, rye, or any American whiskey, Uncle Nearest has you covered.

SIA Scotch Whisky was created because its founder, Carin Luna-Ostaseski, did not like how overwhelming getting scotch whisky was for beginners. For beginners, getting into scotch comes with a lot of intimidation due to the many styles it comes in, unfamiliar flavor notes, and wide price differentials.

For example, it is commonly pushed by so-called connoisseurs that scotch has to be sipped neat and that any other way of drinking it is wrong. In actuality, there are plenty of delicious and complex scotch whisky cocktails that can be made with a scotch like SIA. It is smooth, approachable, balanced, affordable, and a great option for any newcomer to the spirit in addition to those with experience.

A first-generation Cuban-American, Luna-Ostaseski discovered scotch through a friend before diving deep into learning as much as she could. Eventually, she came up with her own blend and became one of the first Hispanic women to own a Scotch whisky brand.

California is a wine-making powerhouse, but its bounty of unique resources and forward-thinking mindset is what helped create the final spirits brand on the list. Future Gin was founded by Amy Atwood, Mary Bartlett, Freya Estreller, and Natasha Case, four women who set out to create a distinctly Californian gin. This women and queer-owned gin company is as unique as it sounds and it is one of the spirits expanding the Golden State beyond wine and craft beer.

Future Gin is made with a botanical base traditional to a dry gin, including juniper berry, coriander, and angelica root. This base is then combined with Californian ingredients like grapefruit, Meyer-lemon, honeysuckle, avocado leaves, and grape leaves.

The result is a unique and layered gin, specific to the location it is made but reminiscent of its timeless framework. It is traditional enough for any gin cocktail, and unique enough to take those cocktails to another level of complexity.

La Gritona is Spanish for "the yeller," and we love this name for a brand that gives us so much to talk about. Melly Barajas is the master distiller who leads the all-female team at La Gritona's headquarters in Valle de Guadalupe, in the Jalisco highlands (not to be confused with Valle de Guadalupe in Baja California, Mexican wine country). Guadalajara-born Melly started making tequila in 1999 as a gesture of love to her dad, who once told her he wanted a tequila brand launched in his honor. She opened her own distillery, Raza Azteca, which today produces La Gritona along with other tequila brands. Today, Melly is one of the 12 women in Mexico who own tequila-making companies.

Melly and her team use agave plants that have reached maturity after 8 to 10 years, allowing them to reach their highest sugar content. They cook and ferment the agave, then distill the juices twice before allowing the tequila to rest in reused Jack Daniels and Balcones whiskey barrels for eight months. The result is an herbal, crisp reposado tequila presented in hand-blown recycled glass bottles. La Gritona is best when enjoyed neat.

Inspired by Mexico's curanderas, wise female healers known for their use of herbs in spiritual rituals and ceremonies, Condesa Gin incorporates mystical, sustainably sourced botanicals into its unique recipes. This small-batch gin honors Mexico City's hip, creative Condesa neighborhood with its name, and its beautiful bottles (blue for Clásica, pink for Prickly Pear & Orange Blossom) show a modern healer on the label.

The all-female team behind Condesa Gin is led by master distiller Hilhamm Salomé, who has developed two gorgeous expressions that are perfect for mixing in modern cocktails. Condesa Gin Clásica, a warm and bitter extra dry gin, features herbs and flowers that are traditionally used in energy-cleansing rituals, as well as in ceremonies to attract love, such as palo santo, sage, rosemary, lavender, elderflower, and myrrh. As for Condesa Gin Prickly Pear and Orange Blossom, it boasts floral, citrusy notes, seeking to capture a Mexican sunset in a bottle.

When talking about Mijenta Tequila, there are two names you need to know. The first one is Ana María Romero, the Maestra Tequilera whose more than 25 years of knowledge and experience reflect on every drop of tequila produced by the brand. The second is Elise Som, the Paris-born sustainable designer who is the Director of Sustainability and co-founder of Mijenta. After several years of design experience, Elise partnered with Mike Dolan and Juan Coronado to launch Mijenta. Since the very beginning, Elise and her team have worked toward creating a truly sustainable operation, which entails everything from avoiding pesticides in the agave fields to using recycled materials in their packaging. The result: Mijenta is a carbon-neutral brand and is the first B-Corp-certified tequila in the market.

Mijenta boasts three expressions. Mijenta Blanco is an elegant, sweet silver tequila with notes of honey, vanilla, and cinnamon. Aged for six months in a blend of three barrels, Mijenta Reposado offers aromas of vanilla, bergamot, and orange blossom, as well as notes of cooked agave and cacao nibs on the palate. The most complex of the trio is Mijenta Añejo, aged for around 18 months in four types of casks. The complex liquid shows aromas of cooked agave, tobacco, and butterscotch, as well as notes of dried fruit and coffee on the palate.