In Recession, Drinking Moves from Bars to Home

Posted by Kendall Harmon

When the going gets tough, the tough, um, go drinking. That's the word from a new Gallup poll showing that 67% of Americans are hitting the bottle, the most since 1985. Another sign of challenging economic times: more and more of those rounds are happening in the kitchen, not at the corner pub.

A new report by Mintel International, a market-research firm, shows that a growing number of Americans are guzzling down wine and spirits at home as opposed to in bars and restaurants, and many are trading down to cheaper brands as they seek fiscally conscious ways to party in a sluggish economy.

Read it all.

Filed under: * Culture-Watch • Alcohol/Drinking • * Economics, Politics • Economy • The Credit Freeze Crisis of Fall 2008/The Recession of 2007--

4 Comments
Posted August 4, 2010 at 8:07 am [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. flaanglican wrote:

It makes it sound like the average American is drinking away his or her sorrows.  More than likely, the average American is eating at home more often in order to save money.  The natural by-product of that is beverages enjoyed with the meal are also consumed at home as well.

August 4, 9:56 am | [comment link]
2. majorinsight wrote:

If it is true that drinking alone is a riskier behavior, this may not bode well.  On the other hand, it might serve to reduce the amount of drink driving.

August 4, 11:44 am | [comment link]
3. Old Pilgrim wrote:

I think the spate of recent laws cracking down on drunk driving has a lot to do with this phenomenon, also the laws prohibiting smoking in public places. At home you don’t have to worry about breathalyzers and you can light up. I can’t believe that most people are drinking alone…I can believe in an increase in family conviviality.

August 4, 12:42 pm | [comment link]
4. Statmann wrote:

Drinking at home may or may not make homelife better but it sure will make the highways safer.  Statmann

August 5, 1:47 am | [comment link]
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