JOSH HUTCHERSON played Peeta in "The Hunger Games".  He's 19 years old and looks maybe 15.  So we're not sure how he pulled THIS off.  TMZ got their hands on a photo of Josh leaving a Ralph's grocery store in Sherman Oaks, California on April 18th.  And he's carrying a plastic bag with a bottle of Macallan Estate Reserve scotch whiskey inside. That scotch sells for $170-a-bottle.

TMZ says a source told them Josh used a FAKE ID to buy it.   A few weeks ago, Josh was being recorded by the paparazzi and actually rallied against the 21-year-old drinking age. "I think the age to go to war is 18, so I think the drinking age should be 18 as well."

A spokesman for Ralph's says they're now investigating how Josh got that bottle of scotch.  They could get fined.  Josh technically could be arrested and face up to six months of jail time, but as a first-time offender, we're sure he won't.

(Here's a photo of him with the bottle in a shopping bag.)  (TMZ)