“Preferences — particularly among young drinkers in the US — have begun to shift from clear spirits to brown liquors. While vodka is still by far the most popular spirit in the US, the growth rate of its sales volume has declined each year since 2010, while gin has actually decreased in popularity. The amount of whiskey purchased has increased every year in the same period, and in 2012, whiskey finally outpaced vodka, growing by 5.1% compared to vodka’s 4% growth. This trend is commonly referred to as the “Mad Men Effect”, because it’s partially driven by whiskey’s larger presence in pop culture and big-name television shows like Mad Men, similar to the way Sex and the City popularized the cosmopolitan. Irish whiskey in particular is just starting to find its way into mixed drinks, having spent most of its long history in a glass with no company save a few drops of water or some ice.”

– http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/10/were-bringing-whiskey-back/280767/