From country ballads to rap songs, whiskey is having a major moment. Currently outselling rye, cognac and brandy, flavored whiskey has quickly emerged from a small whiskey subcategory to a key sales driver — and women are in the driver’s seat.
This makes sense, given that women are expanding their hold on this particular market quickly. In the 1990s, women made up only about 15% of whiskey drinkers; but the ever-growing female whiskey consumer is estimated to make up 36% of American whiskey drinkers, according to 2020 data from the market research firm MRI-Simmons. The stats don’t lie; there’s a market there and a formula for success in this category. Brands are making whiskey more approachable and bringing a new audience as a result.
“You don’t necessarily think of women when you think of whiskey. But we’re there. It doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy it too,” says Nicole Young, co-founder and CEO of Frisky Whiskey, the only Black woman-founded flavored whiskey on the market. It also just so happens to be the highest rated flavored whiskey ever.
Frisky Whiskey is crafted in small batches in Charleston, South Carolina, and focuses on great taste. “Equally prioritizing the female and male perspectives in terms of whiskey is long overdue and I’m excited to have the opportunity to do that with Frisky,” said Young.
In 2021 flavored whiskeys in particular gained a 6.4% share of the category, showing a 33% growth in the past two years.
Frisky’s breakthrough formula uses the purest caramel and natural vanilla to accentuate and enhance these organically occurring whiskey notes. The result is an ultra-smooth and extremely palatable taste at 70 proof, with a uniquely familiar but delicately enhanced flavor that is unmatched.
Maybe a female owner is exactly what the whiskey industry needed. Frisky took home top honors at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition and the Beverage Testing Institute (2018) and the Chairman’s Trophy at the Ultimate Spirits Challenge earning 95 out of 100 for taste, making it the highest rated flavored whiskey ever.
“It’s crafted from 100% premium whiskey as opposed to ‘spirit whiskey’ used in most other flavored whiskey offerings,” adds Young. “My interest in whiskey was really sparked by my love of creating flavor. As a recipe developer in the food space, I’d always used flavor to transform and expand people’s views as well as their palates, so creating a whiskey with the intent to transform preconceived notions about whiskey and expand the whiskey audience was something I jumped at the chance to do.”
After extensive market research, Young and the Frisky team determined that there was a void that could be filled in the whiskey space, specifically where flavored whiskey was concerned. In stark contrast to what flavored whiskey meant before Frisky, they created a premium whiskey with natural flavor. No fruity taste, no artificial flavoring and no dessert-like after taste.
“One of my key takeaways as a Black female entrepreneur is that virtually everyone will doubt you and your ability to succeed, including many of the people who smile, congratulate you and tell you how proud they are of what you’re doing,” said Young. “But if your work and your product speak for themselves, the only pat on the back you need is from you own hand and the only people you need to impress are the people in your target audience.”
For more on Frisky Whiskey, visit drinkfrisky.com
