Welcome to Michigan a place with a rich and colorful whiskey heritage! From auto workers who developed a love affair with a “shot and a beer” in the early 1900s to craft cocktails being developed as early as 1916 to illegal alcohol flowing freely across the Canadian border during Prohibition providing 75% of the nation’s alcohol, whiskey is a part of Michigan’s history. This free flow of alcohol also encouraged the creation of a reported 25,000 blind pigs (aka speakeasies).

In 2020, you can still get a shot and a beer, but the whiskey will likely be one of the finest that Kentucky, Tennessee or Michigan have to offer. The beer could come from one of the 357 craft breweries. The Blind Pigs have been replaced with some of the finest restaurants and bars you’ll ever find. Michigan is still supplying the nation with amazing bourbons, whiskeys and ryes produced by our 53 distilleries.

Bourbon Women Michigan is an organization that embraces this past but wants to be a part of creating its future. Our membership is filled with amazing women who share a passion for a product with a rich history in a state with a rich history. We come together to learn, explore and share and have a little fun while we do it. If you’d like to be involved become a member, just come to one of our events to see what we’re about, follow us on Facebook or send us an email at bwmichigan@bourbonwomen.org.

Cheers,

Carol Otto
Michigan Branch Ambassador