A tough economy ratchets up the pressure to rethink spending decisions. Food, clothing and shelter are essential. But when it comes to the extras, grim new realities set out some straightforward choices between needs and things we can live without.

Then there's booze.

In the past few weeks, scattered reports have noted that alcohol sales are up in some places, despite -- or maybe even because of -- the downturn in the economy. The new figures have revived the thinking that when Americans are taking it on the economic chin they keep a firm grip on the bottle.

But individual decisions about alcohol can be very nuanced. In the short term, it's clear consumers are going out to eat less and drinking more at home, Brager said.

In a persistent economic downturn, though, drinking habits can change significantly over time.

"A lot of people think that when times are bad people will drink more. The evidence is pretty clear that, at least in terms of alcohol sales, that that's not true, that people will drink less," said Christopher Ruhm, a professor of economics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.