Holy Mother Of God - Alcohol Sales For March 2020 Are Up 55% From 2019
Daily Beast - Alcohol sales in the United States surged by 55 percent last week, according to Nielsen. Sales of hard alcohol such as tequila, gin, and pre-mixed cocktails have been in particularly high demand, with a 75 percent spike compared to March of last year. Wine sales reportedly increased by 66 percent, beer sales by 42 percent, and online sales surged by a hefty 243 percent as roughly 250 million Americans are under mandated orders to stay at home.
This is going to sound a little weird but I take personal comfort in these stats because I'm always down for a drink and I know society frowns on that. If there's one silver lining in this pandemic it's that guys like me start trending back towards the mean. I'm talking multiple frozen pizzas a week. Several dozen domestic beers. Lots of time on the couch and almost zero practical concern for long-term fitness. As Ozzie Guillen prefers, its grinder ball season and for the first time since college, guys like us are back in our element. Take your pants off and stay awhile.
In the meantime, here's some interesting data that makes more sense. I know everyone loathes the CDC right now, but take a good look at this handy graphic:
Basically if you're north of the Mason Dixon line you have at least a 20% chance of being a binge drinker. Filter out the Aunt Nancy's and clergy type people of the world and you imagine the working percentage of that figure soars. And obviously the big reason behind that is the weather sucks and you have nothing better to do.
Reminds me of the time I lived out west for a summer baseball league in college. My roommates were from Southern California and Central Oregon respectively. They thought me and the midwestern guys were psychopaths for bulldozing 30 racks. They were much more inclined to get extremely high and dabble with hallucinogens while philosophizing whether or not property taxes constituted Theft. A little weird but overall great dudes that were absolutely baffled every time we got after it.
What I would later realize about my roommates is that the majority of their social life happened outdoors. And opposite of that was mine, entirely inside and dedicated to booze. Initially that meant basement parties and garages in the winter. Gradually that evolved to dorm rooms and frat houses and bars on campus. Then other basements and random apartments and 4-beds in Wrigleyville. On it goes, almost always indoors.
For those in warmer climates tho - you guys aren't nearly as bored or idle. Studies show that when there's shit to do, you have a significantly lower chance of staying indoors and blacking out. And also consider the religious atmosphere that actively frowns upon binge drinking. All things considered, the lightweights on the map make sense.
The one red flag I'll call out is West Virginia. You're not fooling anyone at 11%. Although everyone in West Virginia is so drunk it wouldn't stun me if they filled the survey out backwards from reading 89%. That makes a lot more sense to me than 1 in 10.
Regardless, never a bad time to remind all you Boozing At Home newcomers that you're going to be just fine. In my house we're treating it like any other Saturday in February meaning heavy pours that start with lunch. Don't feel alone if you're in the same boat because you have nothing better to do. If anything, find strength in the freedom of choice that comes with some well timed beverages. Like I said, we're at the unique point in history where literally no one is judging anyone for anything. My advice is you take advantage of the moment and get after it little a bit.