All of the Cocktails Named After U.S. States, Mapped

Whether it be for a big sporting event or community get together, sometimes an occasion calls for a cocktail with a little state pride. While each U.S. state has its most popular drink and perhaps a cocktail that matches the region’s vibes, many states also boast a namesake quaff.

From the bullfrog-populous Connecticut to Kentucky’s bourbon country to the apple orchards of Washington State, some of these cocktails pull inspiration from the flora, fauna, and history of the land. On the other hand, a few of these drinks happen to share a name by pure coincidence — the New York Sour, for example, was actually created in Chicago, and is far from the most iconic cocktail of the Empire State.

We compiled all of the cocktails named after U.S. states, from classics like the Alaska to lesser-known libations like the Colorado Bulldog, and charted them in the map below. So grab your map and your mixing glass and get ready to sip your way across these U.S. states.

Alabama

While the Yellowhammer might be Alabama’s unofficial cocktail, its rhyming cousin — the Alabama Slammer — actually bears the state’s name. The cocktail mixes orange juice, sloe gin, whiskey, and amaretto into a highball glass, dressed up with a Maraschino cherry and an orange wheel. As the name suggests, this cocktail is a strong one, but fruit juice brings a sweet, acidic lift and balances out the three types of booze in this drink.

Alaska

The Alaska first appeared in bartender Jacques Straub’s seminal book “Straub’s Manual of Mixed Drinks,” published in 1913. Cocktail historians debate the origin of the drink’s name, though most agree it was a nod to the state’s 1896 Gold Rush: The Alaska has a bright, almost incandescently yellow hue. The aromatic cocktail is a combination of gin, yellow Chartreuse, and orange bitters, garnished with an orange twist.

Arizona

Bartender Mike O’Leary invented the Arizona Statehood in 1910 to honor a major step Congress took in making Arizona an official state. Arizona gained statehood two years later. The original recipe called for whiskey, fortified wine Dubonnet, Angostura bitters, gum syrup, and ginger ale. Modern tweaks contemporized the cocktail, which is now a combination of whiskey, bitters, Lillet Rouge, ginger syrup, and tonic water.

California

Bartender Alex Day invented the Alta California at New York City’s legendary cocktail bar Death & Co. in 2009. The cocktail brings together tequila, blanc vermouth, yellow Chartreuse, and cinnamon syrup in a coupe glass.

Colorado

The Colorado Bulldog is essentially a White Russian punched up with a squirt of Coca-Cola. The dive bar classic grew in popularity upon the advent of the soda gun machine. How the drink was invented and christened with its unconventional name is known, but many believe it first popped up at college bars near Colorado State University.

Connecticut

The Connecticut Bullfrog pays homage to the Constitution State’s high population of amphibians. The cocktail mixes gin, rum, lemon juice, and maple syrup — an even, but boozy, balance of herbaceous, sweet, and acidic flavors.

Hawaii

While many tropical cocktails might be associated with this state, only the Blue Hawaii shares its name. Pulling inspiration from the beachy cocktail trope — rum, blue Curaçao, pineapple juice, and lime juice are garnished with a pineapple wedge and cocktail umbrella — this drink is where tropical fruit meets booze. It also includes vodka, simple syrup, and lemon juice.

Kentucky

The Kentucky Mule is exactly what it sounds like: A Moscow Mule with bourbon in exchange for vodka. The caramel-forward flavor profile of the Kentucky-native brown spirit gives a warm, softer edge to the ginger beer and lime’s mouth-puckering bite.

The Kentucky Buck is the Kentucky Mule’s fruitier cousin. It brings together muddled strawberries, simple syrup, bourbon, lemon juice, ginger beer, and Angostura bitters. Served in a highball glass, this sipper is as sweet as it is sessionable.

The Kentucky Colonel made its debut in the cocktail canon in 1913 in “Straub’s Manual of Mixed Drinks,” but new iterations have adapted the cocktail to modern palates and techniques. The cocktail is a simple build: Four parts bourbon to one part Bénédictine meet in a rocks glass with a lemon twist.

The Kentucky River is an Old Fashioned riff that might irritate the classic whiskey cocktail’s staunch traditionalists, mixing bourbon with crème de cacao and peach bitters, garnished with a lemon twist. Built exactly like its predecessor, the Kentucky River’s off-kelter ingredients bring new complexities to the tried-and-true classic.

Louisiana

With its French name and ingredients, À La Louisiane is a tribute to New Orleans’ roots. A mixture of absinthe, Bénédictine, Peychaud’s bitters, sweet vermouth, and rye, this booze-forward cocktail melds herbaceous, sweet, and earthy flavors into a Nick & Nora.

Maine

The Remember the Maine is the lovechild of two rye whiskey classics: the Manhattan and the Sazerac. As outlined in “The Gentleman’s Companion,” a 1939 cocktail recipe and history book by Charles H. Baker, Jr., the rink is a nod to a sunken U.S. battleship. The Remember the Maine begins with rinsing a glass with absinthe before adding in rye, sweet vermouth, and cherry liqueur.

Mississippi

The Mississippi Bourbon Punch is a celebration of all-things south of the Mason-Dixon line. Muscadine wine — made from grapes abundant in Alabama and Mississippi — and bourbon make up the drink’s base. Grenadine along with orange, cranberry, and lime juice bring sweet, fruity edges to the quaff. The drink is topped with lemon-lime soda and club soda for a piquant effervescence.

Missouri

English bartender Joe Gilmore crafted the Missouri Mule in tribute to U.S. President Harry Truman in 1947. Gilmore worked at the famed Savoy Hotel American Bar in London, where Truman would frequent while visiting the British capital. Truman, a Missouri native, often opted for bourbon, making it the base spirit in this Mule. Its other ingredients include apple brandy, Campari, and Cointreau.

New York

While there’s a suite of libations named after Manhattan and the city’s many neighborhoods, the entire state gets a namesake cocktail, too. The New York Sour is a riff on the Whiskey Sour, sporting the classic combination of whiskey, lemon juice, simple syrup, and egg whites, but topped with a float of red wine. Even though this drink bears the New York name, it was widely believed to be invented in Chicago.

Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Club Special is a go-to choice in its home state. As the story goes, bartenders at a country club invented the drink to quench the thirsts of heat-exhausted golfers. Also abbreviated to the Club Special, the cocktail mixes vodka, limeade, lemon-lime soda, and club soda.

Rhode Island

The Rhode Island Red is a juicy and slightly boozy drink perfect for sipping along the sea-salty coast of its namesake state. It combines blanco tequila, Chambord raspberry liqueur, orange bitters, lemon juice, agave nectar, and ginger beer. Garnished with both a lemon and lime twist, the Rhode Island Red is refreshing, crisp, and fruity.

South Dakota

If a Beertini — beer with some olive brine — met with a Bloody Mary, it’d be the South Dakota Martini. In this drink, Bloody Mary mix and olive brine spice up a light lager, and the ensemble is speared with a pickle or dotted with an olive.

Tennessee

Similar to the Kentucky’s bourbon-spiked riff, the Moscow Mule gets a Volunteer State spin in the Tennessee Mule. With Tennessee whiskey, ginger beer, and lime juice, this drink adds a silky texture and warm flavors to the otherwise bright, acidic classic.

Texas

Everyone knows the Long Island Iced Tea as the ultimate kitchen-sink cocktail, but the Texas Tea also brings a host of different spirits together into a single glass. Similar to its northern counterpart, the concoction combines vodka, gin, rum, tequila, and triple sec with lemon juice, simple syrup, and cola, but the Lone Star State version adds a half ounce of bourbon for a slightly more southern twist.

Utah

Bartender Erick Castro invented the Johnny Utah — named after Keanu Reeves’ character in the blockbuster “Point Break” — in San Diego, Calif. The effervescent cocktail is a combination of tequila, celery seed syrup, lime juice, simple syrup, absinthe, and seltzer.

Vermont

One of the earliest accounts of the Old Vermont was in David Embury’s “The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks,” published in 1949, comparing it to another, similar cocktail. The Old Vermont combines London Dry gin, orange and lemon juice, and Angostura bitters with maple syrup, the state’s signature sweetener,.

Virginia

Named after the Rolling Stones’ crooning, harmonica-blowing hit track, the Sweet Virginia is a mix-match of saccharine spirits. Bourbon, cherry liqueur, curaçao, and sweet vermouth are at its base, with pineapple juice and bitters bringing a piquant, acidic punch.

Washington

The Washington Apple Cocktail allegedly emerged in the 1980s after a swarm of insects ravaged through the state’s apple orchards. Christof Guycoogan repurposed a bunch of rotting apples into schnapps and mixed them with Canadian whisky, and the result was the Washington Apple Cocktail, which includes cranberry juice in addition to the schnapps and whisky.

Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Old Fashioned is one of the most popular cocktails in the Midwest. What makes this version distinctive from the classic whiskey cocktail is the use of Korbel, a light-bodied domestic brandy, as its base spirit. The drink also includes a sugar cube muddled with Angostura bitters, lemon lime soda, and two Maraschino cherries.

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