Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is one of several high-profile women credited for bolstering the whiskey industry and keeping it relevant — and profitable — among the alcohol imbibing of the nation.
CBS News finds that some of the most popular whiskey bars were either opened, owned or managed by women, and 37 percent of whiskey drinkers in the nation are now women.
That’s up seven percent from just a couple years ago, due largely in part to some high-profile women sipping the stuff in the most public of lights.
Mrs. Clinton, for instance, made a show of tossing back a shot of Crown Royal in Bronko’s Restaurant and Lounge in Crown Point, Indiana, while on the campaign trail during her 2008 presidential bid.
But she’s not the only celebrity-type woman to turn to whiskey, not wine. CBS News reported Duchess Kate, Lady Gaga, Mila Kunis, Christina Hendricks and Rihanna all promote or at least have a reputation for favoring whiskey.
Fred Minnick, author of “Whiskey Women: The Untold Story of How Women Saved Bourbon, Scotch and Irish Whiskey,” told CBS the alcohol has been popular with women for centuries — and that “prostitutes were probably the most powerful whiskey salesmen in the United States.”
Among whiskey’s most renowned nowadays are Allison Patel, owner of Brennes; and master blenders Rachel Barrie of Bowmore’s and Stephanie MacLeod with Dewar’s, CBS News reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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