We have all heard the status of the newer, younger generations: They aren’t drinking. Social media has brought the focus on health and wellness to the forefront of their thoughts. Las Vegas feels it. The younger people aren’t flocking to the desert haven for drinks and gambling. But spirits companies are feeling it too. I speak to a slew of CEOs and brand representatives, and one thing is very clear: the industry is changing. There is a shift. It isn’t coming. It is here. And the legacy brands are already starting to make adjustments. But the truth is, there is already a model for them to use. Men’s suits already experienced this culture shift and weathered the storm to see a new boost in popularity.
So how did they do it? And how can alcohol brands learn from their experience and repeat the renaissance?
Men’s suits have already been through this
Generations before millennials held the belief that every man needed a good suit. And they wore it often. As a matter of fact, there was a time when a gentleman wouldn’t dream of going to dinner without donning their evening best. My own generation began to change. We rebelled against the stiffness of the suit and started adopting the business casual dress code at every turn. The suit became a thing of the past. Then the next generation took it even further, and athleisure was all the rage. If you were a betting man, you would have been forgiven if you bet on the idea that suits were dead. That we had seen the death of the three-piece in real time.
Nowadays, the suit is having a moment. Every fashion show is showing off its expert craftsmanship with tailoring. We’re seeing the resurgence of the tailored wardrobe. Young men are wearing them again, and the business casual is starting to go by the wayside (thank Heavens). But how did they do it? Was it luck? Was it perseverance? Strategy? The short answer is yes. And alcohol can take notes.
A focus on intentionality
First, let’s ask why my generation rebelled against the suit. It was mostly because every generation finds a way to rebel against the traditions that came before them. They want to cut their own path through the world and innovate along the way. While I think we missed the mark by a pretty wide margin, the idea was sound. But why are the younger generations beginning to embrace them once again? Is it simply the cyclical nature of the fashion world? Is that what spirits need to do? Just wait them out? Or was it something else?
My estimation is that suits became a novelty again. We shed ourselves of the constrictive nature of conservatism and traditionalism. We were tired of the mundanity of tailored clothing. They became representative of the trap our parents and grandparents fell into, one we were trying to avoid. But now, suits came back because they are now a luxury item. Gone are the buy one, get three free sales at Jos. A. Bank. Now is the day of the made-to-measure. Something unique made for us. Not something off-the-rack. Spirits can follow suit, if you pardon the pun.
Drinking isn’t going anywhere. It is an entrenched part of our social culture. We used it as a way to drown out the noise of the trap we fell into anyway, and the health aspect was left behind. We lost the novelty. The new generations are going to be looking for something unique, something more elevated for those moments they will still want alcohol to celebrate. Weddings, births, promotions, birthdays, anniversaries, all will center around champagne, a cold beer, or an elevated cocktail.
A change for the better
Don’t fret. I think this is a good thing. In the suit business, it made the switch from this mass-produced, large runs of suit separates that all looked boilerplate to something more unique. Truly talented suitmakers started to return to the fold. Custom suits became the rage, and off-the-rack and run-of-the-mill suits became antiquated. Men are ready to wait for something of higher quality and the perfect fit. This means there is a runway for liquor brands to really dive in and focus on the same things.
Look for legacy spirit brands like Woodford Reserve, Maker’s Mark, Grey Goose, and Jack Daniel’s to go deep into their roots and pull out all the stops as we see the renaissance of true spirit forward drinks. Bars will begin serving more of the top shelf, a parallel to the made-to-measure. They will sell less of the well, a parallel to the off-the-rack. And the younger generations are going to usher in the new version of the alcohol industry. The version that will not only evolve it, but elevate it to levels we haven’t seen since Prohibition.
