Since the first homemade stills bubbled up their heady concoctions many centuries ago, uisge beatha - Gaelic for “water of life” - has always been viewed as the ultimate man's drink.

But the age-old image of whisky as a male-dominated affair was dealt ablow yesterday after it emerged that an unprecedented number of women are joining Scotland's premier club for whisky connoisseurs. Over the past three years, women have accounted for a quarter of all new memberships at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society in Edinburgh - compared with just one in 10 in previous years. Female membership is now at an all-time high, with 550 women joining last year alone.

Whisky experts said yesterday that the increase was down to a new generation of female drinkers prepared to experiment with new spirits and different flavours. A series of tasting events held by the society in recent years combining whisky with food - including cheese and chocolate - have helped to appeal to women.

Celebrities such supermodel Kate Moss and radio presenter Zoe Ball have also increased the acceptability of the spirit after being photographed drinking whisky.

Anne Griffiths, venue director at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society, which has a total UK membership of 18,500, said yesterday: “My great-aunt used to have a whisky every day but that was a blend. Now women are enjoying malts, even the gutsy, peaty ones from Islay, which were always thought of as a man's drink.” She said that the number of new female members was above expectations and that most were in professions such as business, medicine and law.

“We have worked very hard to create the right atmosphere for women at our three venues (two in Edinburgh and one in London),” she said.

“When I first started at the society many years ago it was a predominantly male membership and when I went into tastings they were clearly waiting for a man to turn up.”

Gemma Scott, a consumer magazine editor from Glasgow, added: “For a very long time women were scared to drink whisky because it had such a masculine image. But times are changing and female drinkers are much more open to trying new things. In my opinion, a woman drinking whisky looks far sexier than a woman drinking a sparkly pink cocktail with a straw in it.”

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