Literary storytelling about whisky, cocktails – and the people who drink them.
Mennie Drinks is a slow publishing imprint focused on whisky, cocktails and the stories they inspire.
In an era of AI influencers, vanishing attention spans and constant pivots to video, we are moving slowly and stubbornly in the opposite direction with an independent publishing project that celebrates real drinks, real stories, and the kind of writing that lasts longer than a reel.
Mennie Drinks prioritises content you can spill something on, dog-ear, and lend to a friend who won’t give it back, under two main verticals:
Bar Tab – Short, literary vignettes set in real bars.
Bar Tab isn’t a city guide. It doesn’t track trends, rank cocktails, or profile ‘startenders’. Instead, each piece blends atmosphere, character, and conversation into a lightly fictionalised snapshot of drinking culture. Because the real story is who you meet at the bar.
Glenfiction – whisky tasting notes as short stories.
No flavour wheels, no esoteric adjectives, just atmospheric narrative – best enjoyed with a dram in hand.
Our emphasis is on print – physical chapbooks, zines and small-batch publications that have never worried about keeping up with the algorithm – but we also publish digitally, through Substack (for shorter stories, paid extras and behind-the-scenes notes) and Instagram (tiny tasting-note fictions, bar snapshots and film photography).
Take a seat at the bar
Subscribe on Substack for free stories and occasional extras — menniedrinks.substack.com
SAMPLES & EDITORIAL POLICY
I’m happy to receive whisky samples, but I don’t do traditional reviews or launch coverage.
A sample may inspire a Glenfiction story or Note on A Dram, but samples are received with no commitment to coverage, timelines, or specific formats.
I also write freelance features for drinks and culture publications – if you have a story idea (not a product pitch) that might fit a longer-form piece, I’m happy to discuss.
If that works for you, contact me at: alex@menniedrinks.com
I work professionally in the whisky industry, which is why Mennie Drinks is editorially independent with no commercial partnerships or guaranteed coverage. All content inspired by free samples, gifts or trips will be labelled with the appropriate disclosure.