Harris Polls Reveals Preferred Places Consumers Enjoy Alcoholic Drinks

A new Harris Poll reveals that drinking-age Americans' preferred alcoholic beverages have a lot do with not only who they are but where they are. When imbibing at home, those who drink at least a few times per year are most likely to tip back a glass of spirits (57 percent) or beer (56 percent) followed closely by wine (52 percent). When out at a restaurant or bar, beverage priorities are largely similar with half preferring spirits (51 percent) or beer (50 percent) and 4 in 10 choosing wine (41 percent). Looking deeper at demographic differences, however, preferences begin to shift.

"America's drinking preferences of adult beverages is heavily weighted on situational choices. What's in their glass really does depend on who they are demographically and geographically, product selection availability and the venue and occasion for which they are making that choice," says Danny Brager, senior vice president of Nielsen's Beverage and Alcohol Practice. "That 'who' and 'where' factors into every single choice—either at home, or out of home. In today's crowded marketplace, where abundant new product choices are being introduced to consumers each day, every beverage is competing to be that selection."

Not too surprisingly, men and women have different tastes when it comes to alcohol. While men prefer beer whether at home or out, women favor wine at home and spirits while out, with beer being the least likely choice in either venue. By region, the Northeast, South and Midwest all have a hankering for spirits or beer both at home and out, while Westerners prefer wine in either setting.

LGBT individuals prefer spirits both at home and out, followed by beer, with wine well down the list of their preferences in both settings.

Looking by generation: Millennials (age 21-35) turn to beer and spirits at home, but spirits ranks first while out; for Gen Xers (age 36-50), beer is king both at home and at a restaurant or bar; Baby Boomers (age 51-69) prefer wine and spirits at home, with no clear preference while they're out; and matures (70-plus), on the other hand, prefer wine no matter where they are.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,060 U.S. adults aged 21-plus (1,324 who drink alcohol at least several times a year) surveyed online between Jan. 13-18, 2016. Complete results of this study can be found here.

Looking beyond a general restaurant/bar setting, legal drinking age Americans' preferred adult beverage differs greatly based on where they're drinking outside of their homes. Most prominently, Americans have clear favorites when it comes to a few select locations. Beer is a clear winner with about half of imbibers preferring beer while at a picnic/cookout (52 percent) or at a sporting event (48 percent). Beer also tops at concerts (27 precent).

In a fine dining setting, nearly half (49 precent) of drinkers prefer a glass of wine, the beverage also favored at work events (24 precent) and brunch (22 precent), albeit by a much smaller margin. Not to be forgotten, spirits are favored at bars (37 precent) and on planes (24 precent).

Taking a deeper dive into the different types of alcohol, among regular adult beverage drinkers, their top favored spirits at home are vodka (26 precent), whiskey (23 precent), and rum (19%)—followed closely by tequila (17 precent). At a restaurant or bar, vodka leads (19 precent), followed by whiskey (16 precent), tequila (16 precent), and rum (12 precent). Both in home and out of home, tequila grows in preference particularly among those 21-35 year olds.

When it comes to beer, legal aged drinkers are nearly equally likely to prefer non-craft domestic brews (21 precent), craft (20 precent) or import beer (20 precent) at home. While at a restaurant or bar, import beer (21 precent) and craft beer (20 precent) are favored, followed by non-craft domestic varieties (18 precent).

On the wine front, preferences for both sparkling and sangria are higher among 21-35 year old  than other age groups both at home and at restaurants and bars, as well as among females compared to males. On the other hand, preference for table wine grows with age.