We thought Gen Z weren't drinking. But these cocktails in a ball may suggest otherwise

In one viral TikTok, a grandmother is seen sprawled out on a carpet, drunk, next to a Christmas tree. The video cuts between her necking an alcoholic drink and gazing up at the camera from the floor, happy but bemused.

But this TikToker's grandmother hasn't had one too many sherries. She's been drinking a popular sugary corner shop drink that people in their teens and 20s have been getting their older relatives to try as a joke.

"POV you thought Christmas Day was a good time to introduce BuzzBallz to your grandma", the caption reads.

TikTok is awash with videos like this and if you go to any student flat party, chances are you'll see a stash of the brand's iconic ball-shaped plastic containers in vibrant shades of red, green and blue.

Though these are perhaps the most easily recognisable drink of their kind (thanks to their viral fame and distinctive shape), pre-mixed cocktails and spirit-and-mixer cans more generally have become increasingly popular in recent years.

The quantity of pre-mixed bottled and canned cocktails sold by UK retailers rose 30% in the year to March 2026 compared to the same period the previous year, according to data from research company, Circana.

And in a survey last year by alcohol analysts IWSR, 43% of UK Gen Z respondents said they'd drunk a pre-mixed can in the previous six months, compared to just 26% of the UK population overall.

Gen Z are often spoken about as the sober, shut-in generation. But is the reality less straightforward?

On a sunny Wednesday evening in central London, Keilly Linares, 26, and Chyna Buena, 27, are enjoying post-work drinks in a park. When I tell them I'm researching BuzzBallz, Keilly laughs and whips a red one out of her bag.

She says they're not the tastiest - but they serve a purpose.

"You take big sips and get them down you," Keilly says. "They taste OK for the [alcohol] percentage."

"It does the job," agrees Chyna, who's sipping a similarly sugary can of Echo Falls Summer Berries Spritz.

For these friends, these kinds of pre-mixed drinks are "journey juice" - something to drink on public transport or in a taxi. And because of their size, "you can shove them into your bag really easily", Keilly says.

Over the years, there's been a long line of colourful, sugary alcopops and canned cocktails to capture young people's attention - older generations will probably remember Hooch, WKDs, VKs and Bacardi Breezers. But what sets today's brands apart is that they've blown up in the age of TikTok.

Videos of people loading a supermarket conveyor belt with one particular flavour of BuzzBallz, or unpacking a shopping bag full of them, have caught the eye of Strathclyde University student, Cameron Couliard, 19.

Though he thinks many students genuinely like the drinks, he says some are attracted to their novelty and drink them with a tinge of irony, joking about being "obsessed" with them.

Students joke about freshers trying "baby's first BuzzBall", he says.

Do people actually enjoy their intoxicatingly sweet taste?

"They remind you of those really cheap sweet drinks you had as a kid from the corner shop," says Keilly.

Cameron says the drinks are "very palatable" and points out that the sweetness disguises the strength of the alcohol - 13.5%, similar to wine.

But two friends in their 20s I meet drinking after work turn up their noses. One says they're "gross" and "way too sweet".

Despite some objections to the flavour, shunning beer and cider in favour of sweeter canned cocktails and pre-mixed tins feels like a popular choice, with other brands like Moth, Funkin, Gordon's and M&S own brand also proving popular.

"Canned cocktails and BuzzBallz definitely have taken over," says Aberdeen student Katy Russell.

For her friend Caitlin Crampshee, a night out will often start with a supermarket own-brand canned cocktail as she gets ready. "They taste the exact same" as big-name brands and only cost £1, the 20-year-old says.

But it's not just about price or what's inside the cans.

Ellen Jenkins from food and drink consultancy HRA Global draws a comparison between the appearance of the drinks and "gimmicky bubble tea or the bright vapes".

The colourful cans of Buzzballz in particular are "that kind of playful, Instagrammable, almost childish thing that I think has a real appeal to Gen Z", Gen Z researcher Chloe Combi adds.

"The fact they are cheap, eye catching, and sweet is part of the appeal and potentially frames BuzzBallz as less harmful despite the high potency," says Dr Laura Tinner, who researches public health at the University of Bristol, adding that there are parallels between the marketing of BuzzBallz and other products like vapes and energy drinks.

The NHS advises against drinking more than 14 units of alcohol a week on a regular basis. One 200ml BuzzBall contains 2.7 units of alcohol. A drinking session of six or more units for women (or eight for men) is defined as binge drinking by health professionals.

News coverage paints a picture of falling alcohol consumption among younger people, with some commentators suggesting they're to blame for the demise of pubs.

Data suggests that young people drink less than other generations. About 39% of men and 31% of women aged 16 to 24 who responded to the NHS Health Survey for England for 2024 said they hadn't drunk alcohol in the past year, compared to around 24% of adults overall.

Drinking rates among young people have been declining for more than two decades, says John Holmes, professor of alcohol policy at the University of Sheffield. He says a lot of factors are at play, but his research primarily found young people were much more risk averse now, which shaped their attitudes to behaviours like drinking and smoking.

Those I spoke to said they did still like to drink and go out - but that it was becoming increasingly expensive. In the three years to January, the price of an average pint of lager on draught went up by 60p to £4.83, while a 175ml glass of wine rose 88p to £5.17, inflation data shows.

As a result, people tell me they want to feel they're getting bang for their buck - particularly before going out to bars and clubs.

"It's just so expensive to drink," Caitlin says, but she also acknowledges there's not as much pressure to drink now, and says going out without drinking alcohol has become "normalised".

"When I hear the stories from my parents when they were younger and they were drinking, it's very different how I go out and drink," Caitlin says.

"They would just go out and get really hammered," she says. "But when I go out to drink, I'm not going out to get drunk.

"I'm just going to have a fun time and spend time with my friends."