The holidays: A time for family, fun, food, and of course drinks. 

Well, not everyone is reaching for a holiday cocktail this season – after all, according to CivicScience data, 33% of Americans won’t be touching the stuff during the holidays.

But everyone else? It’s a wine, beer, and cocktail bonanza, as those are the three most popular holiday libations, each claiming nearly a quarter of the drinking population during this festive time.

Women Are Dreaming of a Wine Christmas

When it comes to the wine and beer divide, the difference between genders is stark. Women are 120% more likely to say wine will be their number one choice during the holiday season, whereas men say beer is the answer at a 126% higher clip. The beer disparity doesn’t surprise, as men are beer drinkers at a 73% higher rate most days out of the year. But wine? Men and women drink wine at roughly the same frequency throughout the year; it’s only at holiday time when women gravitate towards a white or red.

In addition, men are nearly twice as likely to say “straight liquor” will be their main holiday tipple, and women are three times as likely to pick hard seltzers or sparkling wines as their go-to drink.

Drink Preferences Show Age

Both Millennials and Gen Xers lead the pack in choosing straight liquor as their drink of choice, each at 12%, easily outpacing Gen Z over 21 and Boomers. 

Beer is the most popular with of-age drinkers in Gen Z, wine with the over 55 crowd. Eggnog appears to have a small but mighty following across age brackets, but trends more with older folks.

Rural Drinkers Are Less Wound-Up About Wine 

When looking at respondents by residential area, those in the city or suburbs standout when it comes to preferring wine. Rural dwellers are 23% less likely than city and suburban dwellers to choose wine this holiday. Rural drinkers prefer beer, mixed drinks, and eggnog at a slightly higher rate than those living in a city or suburbs.

Heavy Tech Users Choose Liquor

Americans who “very frequently” use their smartphones to research products are also in the straight liquor and cocktail categories at a nearly 45% higher rate than people who never do. Those who moderately use their smartphone to research products are much more likely to say they will choose beer this season.

In addition, Americans who routinely use multiple media devices at one time also choose cocktails at a significantly higher rate than people who only do it once in a while or never.

So with the sleigh bells ringing and cocktail glasses tinkling, it’s probably worth it for marketers to put down their drinks for a moment and drill down a bit on these findings. And here’s one last point to sip on: Across all categories, people who say they drink once a month or so noticeably spike in December. Apparently, ‘tis the season.