Teens not always choosing cheap alcohol
By Maanvi Singh, NPR
For underage drinkers, it’s not always about the cheapest alcohol they can get their hands on. Many of them are brand conscious, researchers say, and they’re not drinking the same stuff as their parents.
Young drinkers do go for sweet malt beverages that mask the taste of alcohol with fruit flavors; 17 percent said they’d had a Smirnoff malt beverage, which comes in flavors like grape and frozen strawberry lemonade.
But it’s not only about cheap and sweet. Teenagers do favor budget beers like Keystone Light, and 28 percent of teen drinkers said they’d had a Bud Light in the past month. But they also drink pricey hard liquor like Jack Daniels whiskey and Grey Goose vodka.