Who is drinking spirits?

With the festive season looming in, liquor retailers are prepping for the busiest time of the year as consumers stock up on various beverages for Christmas and New Year.

Although beer and sparkling wine seems to be the most obvious choices, some Aussies will still probably buy rum; whisky; bourbon; vodka; gin or tequila.

“Alcohol drinkers are a diverse bunch, with a person’s liquor consumption often linked to their age, gender, socio-economic scale, ethnic background, attitudes and even state of residence. Even within a category, such as spirits, there can be considerable variation, as we have seen here,” said Norman Morris, the industry communications director of Roy Morgan Research.

The study revealed that more than a quarter of Australian adults consume spirits at least once in an average of four weeks. Currently, 69.6 per cent of the adult population enjoy at least a tipple in any given four-week period — just as they did in 2012.

“Although wine and beer are consumed in much larger volumes by many more Australians, spirits are still an important category in the liquor market. And at special times of year such as the Christmas-New Year period, liquor retailers can expect a surge in sales of these beverages, with customers buying them as gifts (a quick tip: white spirits for the ladies, dark spirits for the blokes!) or for their festive celebrations,” said Morris.

Wine remains the most popular beverage, consumed by 44.5 per cent (or almost 8.3 million people) in an average of four weeks, followed by beer (38.5 per cent or over 7.1 million). Spirits are the third-most popular type of liquor, drunk by 26.2 per cent of Aussies 18+ (or nearly 5 million people).