American boozing at its highest since late '70s

Those candyass '80s, '90s, and '00s can suck it. Americans partied way hardier in 2010, with sixty-seven percent of freedom-loving patriots consuming alcohol. The last time we hit that kind of level was in the late '70s, when seventy-one percent of Americans reported drinking. Depending on who you ask, the reason for the steep percentage is either that boozing is a social activity, or that we're all depressed about being jobless and fill our endless free time with shots of Jose Cuervo.

But the drinking patterns vary wildly by state. People in the Upper Plains, far West, and New England are the biggest boozehounds, with New Hampshire reigning as the current champ. That's right, the people whose claim to fame is leaves are out-drinking the heartland. New Hampshirites (New Hampshirians? That's a tough one) downed an average of 6.7 gallons of wine apiece and 3.8 gallons of liquor, putting them at more than twice the national average. The drier parts of the country include Texas, the Deep South, and the Mid-Atlantic. (Minus DC — fuck yeah democracy!)

As for types of alcohol, wine consumption is up thirty-five percent since 1994, while liquor consumption has risen eighteen percent from that same year. Beer consumption oddly dropped seven percent. What's causing this shift in boozing tastes? Television, of course. Sex and the City and Mad Men have apparently given a "huge boost" to cocktail culture and classier poisons, even among millennials. So if Don Draper and his cronies can have such a drastic impact on drinking and fashion, don't be surprised if you begin seeing an uptick in tragic foot-in-lawnmower accidents.