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This paid newsletter funds the work we commission for Sourced, like this piece by Israel Meléndez Ayala : Persisting and Resisting: When alcohol is more than a commodity.

To start Alcohol season, Ayala looks at the history of illegalising Puerto Rico’s cañita or pitorro rum – rums that are made in domestic distilleries – and what that history has to tell us about resistance to colonial oppression.

Israel’s piece is the first piece published on the website for Alcohol season but we started off the season on Feb 7 at the wonderful e5 Bakehouse (best bread in London) with our first in-person event! We looked at Storytelling in Alcohol.

A panel of industry experts spoke about the stories we tell and share around alcohol and how it can be used to educate and excite consumers about the drinks they see on menus. We also discussed the stories we tell about how alcohol can help to change the industry for good and empower industry professionals and consumers alike to make informed choices about supporting ethical producers, distributors and businesses.

Thank you to our panellists Sam Rogg, Sunny Hodge & Charlotte Cook. Catch up on the event via our IGTV.

In Alcohol season we will be looking at a few different aspects of the ingredient: namely its role in agriculture and celebration. You can read more about our plan for alcohol season in our syllabus for the season, plus our reading list, which will be continuously updated.

Something else we want to look at in alcohol season is sobriety, and sober spaces. Read more about why sober spaces, and accessible spaces more generally, are important in Arielle Clark’s answers to The Ten. Clark is the owner of Sis Got Tea in Louisville, KY where she hopes to cultivate a sober social space for the queer community. You can also look forward to a piece from Sourced team member Zac Jones-Gomez on why the queer community is cultivating more sober spaces.

Don’t forget to catch up on our audio series, we have three new alcohol based interviews!

Chloe spoke to Jon Darby about importing mezcal to the UK and how mezcal is thought about outside of its origin.

Anna interviewed Layla Schlack, of Whetstone media, continuing on the event topic, around how we tell stories and the responsibility of writers and editors

She also spoke with Vidya Balachander, also at Whetstone, about alcohol in global south spaces and the need to decolonise agriculture.

Ps. There have been a few odd things happen with the subscriptions - so if you are a paid subscriber and haven’t received last month’s newsletter please get in touch.

SOURCED: Newsletter

A Toast to February