Millennials shun beer and wine for spirits

Millennial drinkers in the US showing a greater penchant for spirits compared to beer and wine, according to a new survey.

Technology company Morning Consultant surveyed more than 2,000 adults in the US and discovered that “a plurality of Americans prefer liquor drinks”.

While 32% of respondents said they preferred beer, 11% said they would rather drink straight spirits, 28% said they preferred mixed drinks or cocktails and 25% said they preferred wine. The remaining 5% said they had no preference.

Analysing the results further, and the figures showed that beer was the most popular alcoholic beverage among men (45%), and cocktails or mixed drinks were most popular among women (37%).

Millennials also favoured spirits in cocktails or with mixers (29%) over other alcoholic options. Of those questioned, a further 21% of millennials said they favoured spirits neat, while 25% opted for beer and 22% chose wine.

Generation X also showed more of a preference for spirits over other categories, with 30% choosing spirits in cocktails or with mixers, and 11% preferring spirits neat. This generation showed more of a thirst for beer (30%) compared to millennials, but wine was just as popular across both demographics (22%).

David Ozgo, chief economist of the Distilled Spirits Council, said: “The spirits sector has seen impressive growth driven by innovative products, the revival of cocktail culture and a fascination with premiumisation across all spirits categories.

“Adult consumers, particularly millennials of legal drinking age, continue to gravitate toward the vast array of spirits products a companies create excitement in the marketplace with new products and experiences.”

Vodka was shown to be the most popular spirit, with 31% of respondents saying they would be “very likely” to buy vodka and 31% saying they would be “somewhat likely”.

Tequila came second, with 25% saying they would be “very likely” to purchase Tequila and 30% saying they would be “somewhat likely”.