Baby Boomers Outdrink Millennials | Tasting Tabl
Let's settle this with a game of beer pong
Clear your calendar: It's time for some age-based consumer stereotypes. We caught wind of a study that our friends at VinePair wrote up, looking at the drinking patterns of baby boomers, Generation X and millennials, and surprise: It's not the selfie generation who's drinking the most.
Turns out baby boomers, born in all that post-World War II glow, are responsible for a "disproportionately large proportion" of alcohol purchases. Maybe they're all getting crunk at retirement parties, or perhaps it's just residual learned behavior from observing their parents' Prohibition-repeal revelry. Either way, feel free to make the holidays more interesting by taking science into your own hands and challenge Aunt Jo to a chugging competition. Here are four other takeaways from the study:
① Millennials love them some Champagne . . .
Sixty percent say they'd go for a glass of bubbly 365 days a year and not just during the fizzy holiday season. Throughout a measured three-month time span, they drank twice as much Champagne as the older generations.
② . . . But they're also hooked on craft beer.
That's right, they're just as hip as you thought. Blame it on the larger-than-ever craft beer scene or an endless quest to have the coolest Instagram post. Either way, this younger crowd is actively seeking out quality beer.
RELATED America's Next Best Craft Beer Destination Is . . . "
③ In reality, no one can actually make up their mind.
One-third of Generation X is swayed to purchase alcohol based off the label, with Millennials following suit, and 40 percent of all buyers don't have a clue what they even want to buy. But while Gen Xers might hold a reputation as a "small, jaded" crew, according to the study, they're among the "most experimental" drinkers and "enjoy trying different types of alcohol."
④ Just take our money.
Apparently, up to 80 percent of drinkers in all generations combined choose their drink because of taste instead of the price tag, with the exception of baby boomers. Maybe that explains the never-ending quest to get our hands on thousand-dollar Pappy Van Winkle, the bourbon we're pretty sure created the game of playing hard to get.
Now it's your turn, Generation Z. What will it be? Will you be the generation to finally outdrink America's senior citizens? Probably not: The millennials won't allow it. No one's allowed to beat them.