Lara Prescott tried bourbon for the first time at a friend’s party a few years ago — and she liked it.
After being a faithful wine drinker, Prescott, 31, of Frederick, Md., started drinking Maker’s Mark with water, and it has gradually become her drink of choice. Now she experiments with flavored bourbons when at bars.
The marketing and communications manager for a nonprofit, Prescott said she’s tried pre-made bottled flavors, such as Maker’s Mark Mint Julep, and “flavor infusions" at her favorite bar, which steeps the booze with fig or vanilla infusions. She prefers the fig.
While it’s fun to experiment, she hasn’t found one she wants to stock at home.
“If I saw it, I’d be willing to try it, just as something new," she said. “But so far I’m sticking with just the regular."
A big part of Deerfield, Ill.-based Beam’s growth trajectory can be pegged to the increasing importance of the female consumer. After decades of catering to men, spirits manufacturers are homing in on women. Experts point to TV shows like “Sex and the City" and “Mad Men" for making liquor consumption more permissible, and a plethora of flavors with making them more palatable.
Flavored liquor, once confined to vodka, can now be found with bourbon, tequila and other spirits.
