Bourbon: No longer just a man’s drink
More women seeking out Kentucky’s famed whiskey
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In March, members of the Bourbon Women Association were presented with a survey asking how they preferred to drink bourbon.
Was their favorite drink a mint julep? A whiskey sour? A bourbon slushie?
The male master’s degree student conducting the survey was probably surprised by the results — which has long plagued the male-dominated industry, association President Susan Reigler said.
Overwhelmingly, the women said they preferred their bourbon one way: straight.
“You don’t have to have any special anatomy to enjoy a good whiskey,” Reigler said.
That line of thinking seems to have always been prevalent in Kentucky, where about 75 percent of the association’s members are located, bartenders don’t bat an eyelash at women ordering bourbon, and females routinely hold top positions at distilleries.
But with the current bourbon boom, the notion that bourbon is a man’s drink also seems to be dispersing nationwide. According to statistics provided by Heaven Hill, a Bardstown, Ky., distillery, about 30 percent of bourbon drinkers are women, and the total number of women who drink bourbon increased about 50 percent between 2011 and 2014.
There’s no one reason for the change. A Heaven Hill representative attributes it to a younger generation looking for options. Whiskey freelance writer Fred Minnick says it could be women have more societal freedom than in the past. Reigler says it might just be the industry finally catching up to modern gender views.
“We’ve seen a lot of changes in aspects of our culture,” she said. “‘Oh, gee, women can be CEOs? Wow, women can run for president?’ Why are we still asking this? ... Of course women like bourbon.”
The Bourbon Women Association was created in 2011 as a way to give professional women an opportunity to meet other women who enjoy bourbon and a place to feel comfortable asking questions. The group has more than 600 members in 23 states and four countries, and two recently formed branches in Indianapolis and Chicago.
Minnick, author of “Whiskey Women: The Untold Story of How Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch & Irish Whiskey,” said the notion that women couldn’t drink bourbon likely stems from a connection between the spirit and prostitutes common about a century ago.
“In the 1800s era, prostitutes were big time whiskey salesmen,” Minnick said. “They were selling whiskey to johns in the brothel. Distilleries would use illustrations of prostitutes in their advertisements.”
Women were a key part of the early bourbon industry, Minnick said. The first known sour mash recipe is credited to Cath- erine Spears, a woman distilling in Kentucky in the early 1800s. Mary Myers gave money to help start Jim Beam. And many women held prominent roles on bottling lines. Their fingers were delicate; a man’s hands were too clumsy.
Joy Perrine, a bartend- er at Equus & Jack’s Lounge, pushes the boundaries in creating bourbon cocktails, branching out from the typical Old-Fashioned or Manhattan.
Perrine used to work with rum while living in St. Croix and said that, since it’s similar to bour- bon, she thought she’d try combining Kentucky’s famous spirit with more tropical drinks. Today, Perrine is nationally known with a list of award-winning cocktails under her belt — one of which, the Bourbonball, is Reigler’s favorite.
“Bars around here seem to be making more cocktails now,” Perrine said.