INFOGRAPHIC: How we drink during the holidays
Colin Joliat We are finally coming to the end of holiday party season. If you’re lucky, you managed to enjoy your work party without embarrassing yourself, or worse, getting fired. Hopefully you’ve successfully navigated all of your various friends’ parties and kept the complaining about them all being at the same time to a minimum. The only thing left to do now 
is plot out how to meet up with all your old friends during the three days back home without making your parents think you don’t love them (Oh, you thought that was just you?).
For the people at Beefeater 24, all of these parties are a great opportunity to connect with consumers. With holiday themed cocktails, gift giving, and experimental drinking all taking place, it’s a perfect time to survey the scene and learn about people’s drinking habits. This infographic is a fun way to see just how we alter our drinking behavior around the holidays. You’ll probably want to blow this up, so just go ahead and click the scroll wheel of your mouse on the image below check it out in a new tab.
There were definitely a few surprises in there for me. I shocked to see that 20% of guys order what there date is having for the first round. If it was dinner, I would understand a glass of wine and then moving back into the real deal, but at a party? Come on fellas; stop putting it on a pedestal. You aren’t impressing your date by ordering a Cosmo or a Michelob Ultra.
I do, however, like using the festive atmosphere as your excuse for ordering doubles. We all know it’s that you can’t stand half the people at the party, but I’m guessing that wasn’t an option on the survey. “Holiday spirit” is a much better explanation for why you wake up with some guy named Charles the next day.
Here are a few more figures that didn’t make the cut for the image:
Merry Making or Watchful In-taking? When asked what most affects their drink order during the holidays, 25% said that they are in a celebratory mood so they will typically order whatever festive cocktails are on the menu. 42%, however, admitted that even during the holidays they are conscious of their caloric intake so they will stick to lighter cocktail options.
I’d be willing to bet that 90% of that 42% were women….not that there’s anything wrong with that.
Spirited Away: Nearly one third of respondents listed the festive holiday spirit as their #1 motivation for indulging in a cocktail during the holiday season, while 13% listed stress.
Again, using holiday spirit to explain away your drinking problem. Touché my friend.
Cocktail Break: Nearly 25% of men listed needing a break from family or in-laws as their prime reason for stopping by their favorite watering hole for happy hour during the Holidays, versus only 12% of women.
Bar business would increase 1000-fold if they put up a childish sign that read “No Parents Allowed!!!”
Cocktail Cart: When asked how much they typically spend on alcohol during the holiday season, nearly 25% of male respondents estimated that they spend between $250 and $500, while only 10% of women estimated that they spend that much.
The other 90% of women are smart enough to ask us to buy them drinks (to which I always reply, “no.”).
Party Palates: When asked what kind of drink they are most likely to order at a holiday party, nearly 40% of those living in the Western region of the US responded that they would order a holiday themed cocktail versus only 21% of those from the Northeast.
Clearly overcompensating for celebrating Christmas while surrounded by palm trees and bikinis.
I’ve been inspired by the results of Beefeater 24′s survey to bring you a few holiday themed cocktails tomorrow. That way you’ll be able to “get in the spirit” and look more classy than just pouring yourself triple gin and tonics. I’ve always said it’s my goal to turn you into slightly upscale drinkers, and this seems like as good of an opportunity as any.
follow guyism:
Other Stories You Might LIke
Five unique cocktails made with Beefeater 24
comment on this story
blog comments powered by Disqus