Mastodawn

I keep seeing articles like this, about how people choosing to drink less is hurting bars and restaurants, and it's almost always framed as people, especially younger generations, don't like to drink.

They never seem to bring up the fact that a cocktail is like $20 now unless you go to a really divey dive bar. It's the same kind of reporting they on how no one goes to the movies anymore. It's always about changing habits, and never that movie tickets just cost a lot now.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/16/dining/us-alcohol-restaurants.html

Dinner and No Drinks: Restaurants Are Struggling as Americans Drink Less

Traditionally a reliable revenue stream for restaurants, alcoholic drinks are down markedly — and the bottom line is, too.

The New York Times

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Emily Velasco Mar 16

There are limits, and if I can buy two bottles of vodka from the grocery store for the price of a single cocktail, I'm going to opt to not have that cocktail most of the time

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Tom Anderson

@MLE_online sugar is retail $8.00 for 20 lb, which ferments to 3.5 gallons of vodka. If the energy source is retail propane, the cost to triple distill 3.5 gallons is about $10. So, grocery store vodka is inherently worth about $1/fifth, federal tax on it is $2.70, California state tax is another $0.66. So even for the cheap stuff, price is dominated by packaging and distribution.