What Gen Z Drinking Trends Show

Morning Consult Intelligence tracks alcohol usage and brand consideration among thousands of U.S. adults daily, across nine drinking categories and 171 alcohol brands. Request a briefing to see where your brand stands with the next generation of drinkers.

Long cast as the sober generation, Gen Z is warming up to drinking. Across two years of Morning Consult tracking, Gen Z adults (21+) are the only generation whose drinking rose in every category measured — all nine of them — while baby boomers declined in every traditional category and Gen X and millennials held roughly flat. The single largest gain anywhere in the data belongs to Gen Z: weekly-or-more drinking at bars and restaurants jumped nearly six percentage points, from 26% in late 2024 to 32% in mid-2026.

To be clear, Gen Z still drinks less than millennials even as its oldest members reach prime drinking age. But the trajectory complicates the "moderation generation" story: part of the climb is a cohort aging into its mid-20s, and part of it, as we show below, is a genuine change in behavior. Either way, a generation that was supposed to be turning away from alcohol is, for now, turning toward it.

Here's what the data shows and what it means for alcohol brands.

What are the Gen Z drinking trends in 2026?

Comparing the start of tracking (August–November 2024) with the most recent three months (May–July 2026), Gen Z adults gained ground in all nine categories Morning Consult tracks — posting the largest gains of any generation in most of them:

Meanwhile, baby boomers declined in every traditional drinking category over the same period — beer, wine, liquor, and both drinking occasions — with wine falling hardest (48.6% to 44.2%). Gen X slipped in most categories. Millennials, the heaviest-drinking generation, held flat on incidence while drinking somewhat more frequently.

At the same time Gen Z's weekly-or-more bar and restaurant drinking rose from 26.1% to 31.8%, the largest frequency gain of any generation in any category tracked.

Is Gen Z drinking more than millennials?

No. Millennials remain the heaviest-drinking generation on nearly every measure — they lead in at-home drinking (65.5%), liquor (61.5%), beer (56.9%), wine (53.6%), and craft beer (46.4%), and post the highest weekly-plus frequency in almost every category. Gen Z drinks less than millennials do today, even as its oldest members reach their late 20s.

What the sober-generation framing misses is the direction of travel. On several measures — bar-going frequency, hard seltzer, low/no-alcohol beer — Gen Z has pulled within a few points of millennials or drawn even, and the trend lines point one way: millennial consumption is flat while Gen Z's is rising.

Is Gen Z just aging into drinking?

Partly — and it's worth being precise about this, because it's the first question any skeptical reader should ask. The Gen Z cohort adds new 21-year-olds every month, and its existing members are aging into their mid-to-late 20s, when drinking historically peaks. Some of the generational increase is that composition effect, not changed behavior.

The cleaner test holds age constant: are today's 21–29 year olds drinking more than 21–29 year olds were two years ago? The answer splits in two:

• The incidence gains mostly disappear at fixed age. The share of 21–29 year olds who drink beer, liquor, or at bars at all is essentially flat versus two years ago.
• The frequency gains survive. Weekly-or-more bar drinking among 21–29 year olds rose five points at fixed age (from roughly 27% to 32%), with beer and liquor frequency up three to four points each. Notably, drinking frequency rose across every adult age group under 65 in this window — a genuine period effect, with young adults riding the front of it.

More young adults aren't taking up drinking, but young adults who drink are drinking more often — especially out at bars and restaurants, where their July 2026 frequency reading (32.5%) was the highest of the entire tracking period.

Which alcohol brands does Gen Z consider most?

Brand-level consideration data reveals what this generation actually wants to order. The most-considered alcohol brands among Gen Z adults ages 21+, out of 171 tracked, by total purchasing consideration (January–July 2026):

Category average: 15.0%

Three patterns separate Gen Z's list from millennials':

• A canned cocktail tops the list. The two Jack Daniel's and Bacardi Coca-Cola collaborations claim the top two spots — the ready-to-drink cans outranking Jack Daniel's whiskey itself (4th). Millennials' list, by contrast, is led by straight Jack Daniel's.
• Tequila is Gen Z's category. Three tequila brands make Gen Z's top 15 (Don Julio, Patrón, 1800) versus one for millennials — and Don Julio outranks Corona with Gen Z. The brands that appear only on the millennial list skew old-guard: Crown Royal, Heineken, Bud Light, Bacardi, Jim Beam.
• White Claw makes Gen Z's top 15 and misses millennials' entirely — the brand-level expression of the widest generational divide in the category data, where 43% of Gen Z drinks hard seltzer versus 18% of boomers.

What is Gen Z drinking? Seltzers, NA beer, and the additive drinker

Hard seltzer is the most generationally divided drink Morning Consult tracks: 42.8% of Gen Z adults drink it versus 17.6% of boomers — a 25-point gap.

The more surprising finding is what's happening with low- and no-alcohol beer. Gen Z's adoption climbed to 40.8% — tied with millennials for the highest of any generation. But because Gen Z's regular drinking rose over the same period, the sober-curious trend looks additive rather than substitutive: this generation is layering NA options into its repertoire alongside alcohol, not swapping them in as a replacement. Zebra-striping, not abstinence.

What do Gen Z drinking trends mean for alcohol brands?

Four implications stand out from the data:

1. The growth is on-premise. Bars and restaurants are the fastest-growing drinking occasion for young adults — the category's clearest expansion signal, and an argument for on-premise investment aimed at the youngest legal drinkers.
2. Format is the front door. Ready-to-drink collaborations hold the top two spots on Gen Z's consideration list. Legacy spirits brands are reaching this cohort most effectively through convenience formats.
3. Portfolio for both moods. The generation leading NA beer adoption is the same one increasing its bar frequency. Brands that treat moderation and consumption as competing bets are misreading a consumer who does both.
4. Don't mistake "drinks less" for "won't drink." Gen Z adults do consume less than millennials — but their trajectory is up in every tracked category, and positioning built for a categorically sober generation has no support in the trend data. The addressable young-adult drinker is real, growing more engaged, and choosing differently than millennials did.

Frequently asked questions

Is Gen Z drinking less alcohol?

Gen Z adults (21+) still drink less than millennials and Gen X on most measures — but the gap is narrowing. Gen Z is the only generation whose drinking rose across all nine categories Morning Consult tracks over the past two years, including a six-point climb in weekly bar and restaurant drinking (26% to 32%).

Is the sober curious trend real?

The behavior is real but additive: Gen Z leads all generations in low/no-alcohol beer adoption (40.8%, tied with millennials), yet its regular drinking rose over the same period. Young adults are adding NA options alongside alcohol rather than replacing it.

What alcohol does Gen Z drink most?

By brand consideration, Gen Z's top choices are ready-to-drink cocktails (Jack Daniel's & Coca-Cola ranks #1), flavored malt beverages like Smirnoff Ice and Mike's Hard Lemonade, and tequila — three tequila brands crack Gen Z's top 15 versus one for millennials.

Is Gen Z's drinking increase just because they're getting older?

Partly. At fixed age, the share of 21–29 year olds who drink at all is flat versus two years ago — but the frequency of drinking among 21–29 year olds rose about five points, so the increase in how often young adults drink is a real behavioral shift, not purely a composition effect.

How does Morning Consult measure drinking behavior?

Morning Consult surveys U.S. adults 21 and older monthly about their usage frequency across nine alcohol categories and drinking occasions, and tracks purchasing consideration for 171 alcohol brands. Generational category tracking draws on monthly samples exceeding 3,300 Gen Z adults for beer, wine, and liquor; brand consideration samples range from roughly 630 to more than 3,500 Gen Z adults per brand.

When was this data collected?

Category tracking covers August 2024 through July 2026 among U.S. adults 21+, with trend comparisons drawn between the August–November 2024 and May–July 2026 periods. Brand consideration rankings pool January–July 2026 tracking among Gen Z adults ages 21–29. All responses are weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population.

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Morning Consult Intelligence tracks alcohol usage, brand consideration, and drinking audiences daily — so beverage brands can see exactly where they stand with the next generation of legal-drinking-age consumers, and how fast that generation is changing.