The Millennial Booze Paradox: Our Generation's Complex Relationship with Alcohol

We’re the generation that made boozy brunch cool and then turned around to pioneer the “sober curious” movement.

We’ll pay €15 for a cocktail with small-batch spirits but drink cheap wine because it’s “natural and sustainable.” We invented “wine mom” culture and then called it problematic. We made Thursday the new Friday but also made Dry January a thing.

Our social media reflects this duality. One post shows off our “best sober life,” while the next is a perfectly staged rosé-and-vinyl photoshoot. We say we’re “too old for clubbing” but stay up on someone’s couch talking crypto and ’90s cartoons over natural wine until dawn.

The contradictions follow us to work. We joke about needing a drink after back-to-back Zoom meetings but can’t risk a hangover before a client call. Networking happens over drinks – sparkling water makes you look antisocial – even as we preach work-life balance and mindful consumption.

Caught between our parents’ “wine with lunch” culture and Gen Z’s love for zero-proof spirits, we’re navigating Sunday anxiety that could be from last night or just life.

But maybe these contradictions show how we’re redefining our relationship with alcohol. We’re talking openly about “gray area drinking” and proving you don’t need to hit rock bottom to rethink your choices.

We’re figuring it out, contradiction by contradiction. Aren’t we a funny generation…

Stay sober and cool, 

Your High Sobriety Club