Craft beer is all the rage, but for the 7th consecutive year, spirits took market share away from beer in 2016. Americans are drinking more whiskey, cognac, tequila and vodka.
David Ozgo, chief economist for the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, says a big reason is a lot of millennials prefer cocktails over beer.
"It provides an authentic experience millennials are craving; ultimately, all whiskeys are aged and if there's one thing you can't fake, that's aging something in a barrel."
Ozgo says millennials are also serving more cocktails.
"Any time you have a cocktail, the cocktail is a very authentic, very personal experience -- ideally suited for the kind of entertaining millennials like to do today."
The council says cognac and Irish whiskey sales were up 13 and 19 percent, respectively. Vodka sales totaled $6-billion. Overall, American distilled spirits sales reached nearly $78-billion in 2016. Craft beer remains trendy, but millennials don't drink six packs of it at a time -- as we may have Budweiser, in the past.