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The other day I was reading the city magazine of our neighbors up north, and I came across an article called "Drinking's New Rules," by Victor Fiorillo. In the piece, Fiorillo was discussing the idea that over the past 20 years or so, women and men have stopped fitting into such traditional gender roles when it comes to drinking, i.e. more women ordering beer and whiskey and more men ordering wine and cocktails.
When I first read the piece, I thought it seemed a little retro. Of course genders don't matter anymore when it comes to drinking. Personally, I usually drink whiskey and beer right along with my guys friends. And I know plenty of guys who don't feel ashamed ordering wine or mixed drinks while we're out. But the more I thought about it, there are plenty of girls who say they "don't drink beer" (though something tells me they just aren't trying the right stuff) and I can definitely imagine a guy getting crap from his friends when he orders a cosmo. So while the Sexual Revolution was more than 40 years ago, there are still some odd double standards going on in the bar scene. But what do I know? I decided to talk to some of the experts around town and see what they think.
"Compared to years ago, we have a huge amount of female customers that come to us because of our beer," says Ron Furman, owner of Max's Taphouse in Fells Point. "That said, a lot of our women customers like the beer that's more wine-like, like our Belgians. A beer that's very popular with a lot of women is the Framboise, which has some raspberry flavor to it."
And what about with cocktails? According to Ryan Shacochis, general manager of The Wine Market in Locust Point, drink orders have become less stereotypical. "In the last few years, women have been ordering more Manhattans and guys are ordering things that are thought of as froufrou, but realizing they’re just as complex." He said that that one of their drinks, The Bohemian (made with white wine and a sweet liqueur), is often ordered by men. "If the drink's got more of a story and a history, then guys are more into ordering it," he says.
So what do you guys think? Is it weird when a girl pounds a shot of Jameson? Would you do a double-take if a guy ordered an apple-tini? Or are we so far beyond this that it's stupid to even have this conversation?
[Image: courtesy of geeksugar.com]
