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For a while, the story around young people and alcohol was pretty straightforward, Gen Z was supposedly the generation turning its back on drinking. The latest numbers from IWSR tell a rather different story.
Young legal-drinking-age consumers are not necessarily drinking more in the old-fashioned sense. They are drinking in different situations, choosing different products and, in many cases, being more selective about what they order. At the other end of the age spectrum, older drinkers are cutting back much more noticeably.
That generational change is now having a real impact on the global alcohol business. According to IWSR's 2026 Bevtrac research, total beverage alcohol consumption in 15 major markets fell 3% in 2025, after declining 2% in 2024. And surprisingly, Boomers are a big part of that decline.
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IWSR defines Boomers in this research as people aged 61 and above. They are now the generation drinking the least among the age groups studied.
Their drinking rate fell to 71%, according to IWSR's latest Bevtrac survey. They also reported fewer drinking occasions and fewer drinks when they did drink. The average Boomer reported just 2.6 drinks per occasion.
This is not simply about older people deciding that alcohol is bad and quitting completely. Some are drinking less because alcohol has become expensive. Others are going out less often. Health and lifestyle choices are also playing a role.
IWSR says the three biggest reasons Boomers give for drinking less include cost, fewer social occasions and actively moderating their alcohol intake.
So someone who might once have gone out for drinks twice a week could now be going once. Someone who used to have three or four drinks might now stop at two. Those small changes become significant when they happen across millions of consumers.
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Now comes the part that goes against the usual narrative. Gen Z is not disappearing from the alcohol market.
IWSR's research shows that 74% of legal-drinking-age Gen Z consumers across 15 major markets drink alcohol, compared with 76% of the wider adult population. Three years earlier, the Gen Z figure was 66%.
So the idea that young adults have simply stopped drinking does not really hold up.
There is a catch, though, Gen Z does not necessarily approach alcohol in the same way previous generations did. They are more interested in the occasion, the people they are with and the experience around the drink.
This is probably the easiest way to understand the difference. IWSR says Gen Z's biggest drinking occasions include socializing, events, relaxing while watching TV or listening to music, and casual meals. Older consumers are more likely to drink to relax or alongside a meal, and are also more comfortable drinking alone.
For younger drinkers, the drink is often part of something else. A night out with friends, a concert, a festival, dinner or a house party. That also explains why cocktails have become so important to this audience.
According to IWSR's latest research, 84% of Gen Z legal-drinking-age drinkers reported having cocktails in the previous six months, the highest proportion among the generations studied.
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RTDs, or ready-to-drink beverages, are another category benefiting from this shift. Think canned cocktails, hard seltzers and other drinks that can be opened and consumed without mixing anything yourself.
IWSR says RTDs were one of the only major beverage alcohol categories to record growth in 2025, alongside no-alcohol products, while the wider alcohol market declined.
For Gen Z, the attraction is fairly obvious. RTDs are convenient, easy to share, usually flavor-led and don't require someone to play bartender at a party.
That matters because younger drinkers are not necessarily ignoring moderation. In fact, IWSR says Gen Z is more likely than other age groups to pay attention to government drinking guidelines.
This is where the story gets slightly more complicated. Gen Z is drinking alcohol, but that does not mean every occasion has to involve alcohol.
No-alcohol drinks are becoming part of the repertoire. A person might have a cocktail at dinner and then switch to a zero-alcohol drink later. Or they might choose a no-alcohol beer at an event because they still want to participate socially without getting drunk.
IWSR describes this as wanting the experience and inclusivity while staying in control. That is quite different from the old idea of moderation simply meaning drinking less beer or having one less whisky.
India appears in IWSR's 15 core markets, and the country's numbers are worth watching. The latest IWSR research says that 77% of higher-income urban alcohol consumers in India participate in beverage alcohol, while the figure among Gen Z adults over 21 in the same demographic is 80%. Three years earlier, Gen Z participation in that group stood at 60%.
It does not mean every young Indian is drinking. The research specifically covers higher-income urban consumers, so the numbers should not be treated as representative of India's entire population.
Still, it tells brands something important: younger legal-age consumers in India's cities are becoming an increasingly relevant part of the alcohol market.
IWSR has also previously found that Gen Z consumers in India are becoming more selective about the categories they drink, rather than simply consuming lots of different types of alcohol on one occasion.
The bigger story is that Gen Z is participating in alcohol at roughly the same level as the wider adult population, but its drinking habits look different.
At the same time, Boomers are reducing participation, drinking frequency and the number of drinks consumed per occasion.
IWSR says Boomers now account for 21% of the overall drinking population, down from 23% in March 2024. Gen Z's share has moved in the opposite direction, from 13% to 17% over the same period.
That shift might not sound dramatic, but for a global industry selling billions of bottles and cans, it matters.
Also Read: Gen Z’s Drink Of Choice: Why Ready-to-Drink Is Winning The Next Generation
Probably the biggest lesson is that there is no longer one simple alcohol consumer. A brand trying to keep older drinkers interested may need to think about smaller serves, quality and value. For younger consumers, the opportunity could be cocktails, flavor-heavy RTDs, social occasions and products that work alongside no-alcohol options.
IWSR itself recommends a more targeted approach, with smaller, moderation-friendly formats for Boomers and flavor-forward RTDs, convenience and social experiences for Gen Z. So the headline here isn't really "Gen Z is drinking more."
Older consumers are drinking less, younger legal-age consumers are becoming more involved, and both groups are changing what drinking actually looks like.
And for an industry that spent years trying to understand whether Gen Z would drink at all, that is probably the bigger story.
