Tito?s Handmade Vodka is running ads in the new Happy Houred application, targeting iPhone users looking for a night out on the town.

Happy Houred is a free location-based application. The application features a searchable database of bars and restaurants.

?Like any good community based app, our goal is to let the user base grow organically,? said Lindsey Johnston, CEO of Lush Life Productions. ?We want this campaign to be grassroots, pulling in the people who are most likely to participate.

?From there, we expect the community to turn more mainstream,? she said. ?Already, we've seeded bars and happy hours in key markets around the U.S., but we're looking for users to add data in all of the cities we haven't yet hit.?

Lush Life Productions, a social media and digital PR agency for the beverage industry and Appsolute Media, a publisher of Web and mobile products, created the application.

Tito?s Handmade Vodka is serving banner ads in key locations through the application.

When a Tito's Handmade Vodka advertisement is clicked a WAP page opens up in the application.

The WAP page is Tito's Handmade Vodka's blog and it features drink recipes, videos and other types of blog posts.

To get out of the blog consumers can click to return to the application screen.

Consumers can search several different ways. For example, if a consumer wanted to find a karaoke bar to go to with their family at 7 p.m., the search can be done based on that criterion.

Happy Houred also uses the iPhone?s GPS services and can find bars nearby the user.

Once a bar is a selected, the drink specials are featured along with contact information and reviews.

Bar and happy hour information was added before launch in a number of major cities and surrounding areas such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas and  Boston.

?The beauty of Happy Houred is that there's a special for everyone- even the non drinkers,? Ms. Johnston said. ?Say a group of girls are going out for martinis and manicures, the app can suggest a dozen places near the nail salon offering a special on martinis.

?Going to catch Monday Night Football and want a deal on beers? The app can give you a list of sports bars all featuring beer specials on Monday nights,? she said. Hungry for a burger, but don't want to spend too much? The app can point you to a $2 burger special.?

The application is primarily being marketed via digital means such as Twitter, Facebook and online advertisements.

Ms. Johnston said that she believes that the social nature of the application lends itself well to word of mouth and coverage.

Alex Libkind, CEO of Appsolute Media, Valley Stream, NY, said that he thinks having Don Q Rum and Tito?s Handmade Vodka onboard as advertisers is beneficial for both the application and consumers.

?The ads focus on the action of the user,? Mr. Libkind said. ?We grab people right before the point of sale by offering them solutions to the question: ?What am I drinking tonight???

?We believe the best advertisers will be the ones that can directly benefit from being part of the application such as liquor companies, bars, and events throughout our various cities,? he said.