predilection

predilection \preh-d'l-EK-shun; pree-\, noun:

A predisposition to choose or like; an established preference.

Wilson doesn't see any inconsistency between his socialism and his predilection for the high life.
-- Marina Cantacuzino, "On deadly ground", The Guardian, March 13, 2001

By his own account, Mr. Kuhn was a rebellious young man. Among Harvard music majors, he said, his predilection for jazz marked him as a black sheep.
-- Phillip Lutz, "A Onetime Sideman, Now Front and Center", New York Times, August 21, 2009

But for him the first rule of judging was to set aside personal predilection and vote the law and the facts.
-- Edwin M. Yoder Jr., "Lewis Powell a Fine Sense of Balance", Washington Post, June 29, 1987

Predilection is at root "a liking before," from Latin prae-, "before" + diligere, "to choose; hence to prefer, to like very well."