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Matthew Rowley
Bartender / bar director
- Discipline
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i. Biography
James Beard finalist Matthew Rowley built a career by moving from doctoral scholarship into spirits, bringing archival habits to a field that rewards close reading. At the University of Leicester, he studied early modern religious and political history at doctoral level, work that trained attention on texts, contexts, and the way ideas travel. That same method later found a use in folk distilling, the manufacture and distribution of illicit spirits, and whiskey, where folklore, chemistry, and hidden histories sit side by side.
The Climb
The University of Leicester gave Matthew Rowley a base in scholarship before his work spread across public-facing roles. Museum curator, advertising executive, Non-Stipendiary Fellow at Woolf Institute, and Research Associate at Cambridge Institute on Religion & International Studies: each role added a different mode of reading culture, whether through objects, institutions, or argument. The common thread is a practical interest in how people make meaning from things, and how those meanings shift between archive, gallery, and glass. Today, Matthew Rowley serves as editor and contributor of Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, a format that matches the reach of his subject and the discipline of his method. The title points to a field that is broad but exacting, where reference work depends on range, and range only matters when it is handled with care.
Today
Folk distilling, the manufacture and distribution of illicit spirits, and whiskey remain at the center of Matthew Rowley’s work. In that terrain, history stays active: it moves through trade routes, kitchen tables, laboratories, and back rooms, carrying improvisation and survival with it. As Matthew puts it: “In other words, cocktails as we know them started out as medicine.” The line fits a writer who connects older remedies to modern mixology without flattening either one.
Signature
Matthew's signature dishes include Lost Recipes of Prohibition and Moonshine!. Both titles show the same interest that runs through his work: recovery, reinterpretation, and the return of obscured knowledge to view. They frame drink history as a field of technique and memory, asking what was made, how it was made, and why it disappeared from sight.
In Their Words “Curators revel in material culture; we collect stuff — and use it to learn as much as we can about our fields.” Matthew’s own words point to the working logic behind his career: objects are evidence, and evidence can be read. The stance is less about display than inquiry, and it gives his broader work a steady trade-minded clarity. “I particularly like when guests bring spirits they’ve made themselves.” The appeal here is in the exchange as much as the drink. It reflects a sensibility built around craft, shared practice, and the language that makers use with one another.
Recognition
Matthew's honors include James Beard Award nomination for Lost Recipes of Prohibition (2015).
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Matthew
What is Matthew Rowley's current role?
As of 2026, Matthew Rowley is editor and contributor of Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails.
Where did Matthew Rowley train or study?
Matthew Rowley trained at University of Leicester.
What recognition has Matthew Rowley received?
James Beard Award nomination for Lost Recipes of Prohibition (2015).
