Photo

While it has long been clear that many adolescents drink alcohol, despite its illegality, experts have never been certain what they are drinking. Now a nationwide survey finds that the favorite alcoholic beverage of underage drinkers is beer, and their favorite beer is Budweiser.

Researchers surveyed a representative national sample of 1,031 boys and girls aged 13 to 20 of varying ethnicities and socioeconomic levels. All had consumed at least one alcoholic drink in the previous month. The results appear online in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Almost 70 percent had drunk either beer or hard liquor, and half had consumed a flavored alcoholic drink. Smirnoff vodkas were the number one choice for hard liquor, followed by Jack Daniel’s bourbons. Bud Light was the favorite beer, with Budweiser and Coors Light second and third.

For flavored alcoholic beverages, the respondents preferred Smirnoff malt beverages (Smirnoff Ice, and others, in many flavors). Mike’s beverages, including Mike’s Hard Lemonade and other fruit drinks, ranked second.

The top 25 brands accounted for about half of all alcohol consumption by volume among the adolescents, said the lead author, Dr. Michael Siegel, a professor of public health at Boston University.