By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

Now that the calendar has turned to December, tonight I'm attending my first of many holiday parties I've been invited to. We are given ample opportunities to eat and drink more than we normally would this time of year, which is why come January 1st we'll be seeing all the weight loss and exercise ads. But let's not think about that now. Instead let's get the parties started.

I am no lightweight when it comes to liquor, so I do partake at these parties. I love my wine and have it just about every night with dinner. I have a few beers on the weekend, a vodka martini on Saturday night and now that the temperature has turned down, I prefer scotch. Most men think it's odd when the see me ordering scotch, single malt no less. "It's not a female drink." On the contrary I tell them. You just mix it with a little water which makes it a low cal drink.

My love for scotch goes back a ways. In fact, I introduced my husband to scotch when we first started dating. We were spending the weekend together and only had enough money between the two of us to purchase one bottle. He wanted rum, and you guessed it, I won and we bought scotch. As I told him back then, all we need are a few ice cubes and we're all set.

So when one of our Lip-sticking readers recently contacted me who works with Skyy Spirits, a subsidiary of Gruppo Campari, the eighth largest spirits company in the U.S., and told me about this unique marketing program I told her I love it and would share it. Skyy Spirits Women & Whiskies is an interactive community managed by women for women which encourages them to speak up about their love for whiskies. Women and Whiskies can be found here on Facebook. To her knowledge few, if any, spirits companies are incorporating women into their whiskey outreach in this way. There are some vodka companies who are creating products specifically with the female audience in mind (namely Godiva Chocolate Vodka, Chambord Vodka, Van Gogh Blue Vodka) typical "girlly" drinks, but no other whiskey brand is talking to women in this way.

 “After nearly a decade of attending whiskey events around the country, we began to see more and more women coming to the table asking great questions. As a result, we wanted to create a community of like-minded women and empower them with knowledge to feel confident when ordering or discussing whiskies,” said Ms. Randal Stewart, PR and Events Manager specializing in whiskies.

The program launched the beginning of November with a sold-out event in New York’s trendy Chelsea neighborhood. Women gathered to sample different whiskies from Scotland, the U.S. and Japan, find out the differences among the regions and sip delicious whiskey cocktails, including the Glen Grant Zinger, The Glenrothes Rob Roy, and Hibiki Falling Leaves. They have many more events planned throughout December and will be expanding to other regions in 2011.

The Whiskies & Women Facebook page currently has 774 "Likes", one being me! For those of you celebrating the beginning of Hanukkah tonight, their most recent post includes a cocktail recipe to help mark tonight's festivities. So do check it out and pass it along to other women that you think may enjoy this. I will usually highly recommend a program marketed to women that is developed and manged by women. I ask, why aren't they all?

Happy Hanukkah and please, drink responsibly.