When my husband and I find that rare occasion in which we are able to go out and enjoy an evening of dinner and drinks, he usually has better foresight than I do about what meal to select. However, when it comes to selecting what alcohol beverage we might share, it’s like a whole other world. Although he “knows what he likes,” conveying that to the server or bartender usually is not his strong suit, so he’ll deflect that ordering to me.

Although my husband might be at a disadvantage given my form of employment, he is not the only one who is influenced by female opinion when it comes to deciding what alcohol beverage to enjoy. According to Chicago-based Technomic Inc.’s "2014 Special Trends in Adult Beverage Report: Women’s Purchases and Preferences," the majority of women in the United States are of legal drinking age, and these women have become increasingly engaged, experimental and educated when it comes to beer, wine and spirits. Another interesting point the study found is that young and ethnic women will have an increasing influence on the future of the adult beverage market.

“Men are traditionally the target of adult beverage marketing initiatives, but women truly are influencers,” said Donna Hood Crecca, senior director at Technomic, in a statement. “We find women are increasing their knowledge of adult beverages, open to promotions, interested in trying new drinks, and eager to share their discoveries with others. Their behaviors vary by location, age, income and ethnicity — this is a very diverse and increasingly important group of adult beverage consumers.”

In an infographic, Technomic broke down the share of women who are consuming different beer styles at on-premise locations one time or more a month. Overall, 50 percent of women consumed domestic light beer compared with 49 percent who consumed domestic regular beer at on-premise outlets. The report also found that the overall female group drank imported beer 47 percent of the time, craft/microbrew 42 percent of the time, hard cider 41 percent of the time, and flavored malt beverages 34 percent of the time. When broken out into 21-34 and 35 and older segments, the 21-34 age group out-indexed the 35 and older group in all beer styles.

The infographic also compared women’s on-premise behaviors with the general population. For example, 30 percent of women spent more on adult beverages at on-premise locations last year compared with 19 percent of the general population, based on Technomic data. Forty-two percent of women also declared that they try new adult beverages and then purchase them off-premise for at-home enjoyment, while only 35 percent of the general population reported conducting this behavior. When it comes to deciding what drinks to order, 39 percent of women take cues from menu descriptions versus 29 percent of the general population, and 32 percent of women are influenced by samples compared with 26 percent of the general population.

 To learn more about women’s influences on adult beverage purchases, visit technomic.com to purchase a copy of the report. You also can ask the nearest woman what she would recommend you drink.