I wonder how much of a role palate refinement is for this trend. For example: Starbucks, for as terrible as their coffee is, did a lot to elevate the overall regard of coffee; bean juice was no longer just a bitter stew we tolerated to get our caffeine fix. Starbucks broke trail for craft coffee roasting more general popularity.
Could it be the same with alcoholic beverages? I used to think Maker’s Mark was the best bourbon going. Now I know better, but so many of the craft bourbons are expensive or just plain hard to find. Ditto for my favorite hazy IPAs. Why binge drink the good stuff when your palate is going to be wrecked after three beers? And since I’m not going to drink swill, welp, guess I’m not going to get drunk tonight!
Used to work in the industry. The common joke was that Starbucks is a dairy business with a side coffee business. They move a hell of a lot of dairy. They had word-of-mouth and an insatiable appetite to fill every strip mall. I wouldn’t say their coffee was ever good or great. It just had to be better than McDonalds which is not saying much. Good business plan though.
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the graph covers 20 years. i think what we’re seeing is the 35+ y.o. people gradually cutting back because the doctor’s telling them to stop beating the shit out of their liver, in addition to younger generations not picking up the “let’s get shitfaced every weekend” habit
edit : I guess I should learn to read
i think what we’re seeing is the 35+ y.o. people gradually cutting back because the doctor’s telling them to stop beating the shit out of their liver
No, that’s not how the graph works. It isn’t following one generational cohort as they age; it’s measuring the behavior of a certain age group and switching to new people as they age out.
It’s only measuring the second part of what you wrote.
