The following is a list of notable beverages associated with (and often limited to) specific regions[1] [2] [3] [4] of the United States. See also: List of regional dishes of the United States.
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| Image | Drink Name | Associated Region | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ale-8-One | Kentucky | A ginger and citrus blend, containing less carbonation and fewer calories than conventional soda, Ale-8-One was first sold in 1920s Prohibition-era Kentucky—according to the company, thirsty locals used it as a mixer to improve the taste of bootleg liquor.[5] Often abbreviated as Ale-8, the name Ale-8-One is itself a pun on the original title; it was originally called "A Late One" after a contest was held at a county fair to name the beverage. | ||
| Apple Beer | Utah | Non-alcoholic and uncaffeinated, this Salt Lake City brew is an American variant of the Bavarian Fassbrause. It is commonly used as a non-alcoholic alternative for celebratory toasts (in Utah, religious abstinence[6] from both alcohol and caffeine is not uncommon). | ||
| Birch beer | Northeastern United States | A carbonated soft drink made from herbal extracts and birch bark or sap. | ||
| Boost! | New Jersey (especially Burlington County) | Boost! is a non-carbonated fruit syrup first sold in 1913 under the name Tak-Aboost. Boost | has been described as having a taste like "flat Coke." While it can be hard to find on store shelves outside of South Jersey, the company ships thousands of gallons worldwide each year.[7] | |
| Boston Cooler | Detroit | Boston Coolers were invented in the Boston-Edison neighborhood of Detroit. They are made with softened vanilla ice cream and ginger ale—purists insist on the local Michigan brand Vernors. Unlike a traditional ice cream float, Boston Coolers are blended thick like a milkshake. | ||
| Cel-Ray | New York City and Florida | First produced in 19th-century Brooklyn, Cel-Ray is a kosher, carbonated celery-flavored soft drink. Derived from celery seed extract, it is commonly found in Jewish delicatessens in New York City and South Florida. | ||
| Cheerwine[8] | Southeastern United States | A cherry-flavored soft drink that has been made by the Carolina Beverage Corporation since 1917. | ||
| Chicory Coffee | Southern United States | In the 1840s, the port of New Orleans was America's second-largest importer of coffee (after New York). When Union naval blockades interrupted the flow of coffee into Confederate New Orleans during the American Civil War, Louisianans began to add chicory root to their coffee as a substitute[9] —thus starting a tradition that continues to this day. | ||
| Coca-Cola and Peanuts[10] | Southern United States | This Southern recipe is a simple one: open a glass of Coca-Cola and just drop a few shelled, salted peanuts into the bottle. The sweetness of the soda pairs with the salt from the peanuts. | ||
| Coffee milk | The official state drink of Rhode Island[11] | A drink made by mixing coffee syrup or coffee extract and milk together[12] | ||
| Date shake | Palm Springs, California & Coachella Valley | A milkshake made with dates; the local climate is ideal for growing date palm trees. | ||
| Dr. Enuf | Tennessee | Dr. Enuf is a vitamin-enriched lemon-lime soft drink that is widely available in the Tri-Cities of Northeast Tennessee. | ||
| Dr. Nut | New Orleans | No longer in production, Dr. Nut was a New Orleans soft drink with a distinct almond flavor, similar to Amaretto. It was immortalized in John Kennedy O'Toole's novel A Confederacy of Dunces as Ignatius J. Reilly's favorite beverage. | ||
| Egg cream | New York City | Made with neither eggs nor cream, this fountain beverage was invented in Brooklyn and is usually made with chocolate syrup, seltzer and milk. | ||
| Faygo[13] | Michigan, Midwestern United States, Mid-Atlantic (United States) and South Central United States | A soft drink manufactured in Detroit that has been mentioned in several rap songs, most notably by Insane Clown Posse. | ||
| Grapico | Alabama | Grapico is a caffeine-free, artificially flavored carbonated soft drink with a purple color and a grape taste sold in the Southeastern United States since 1916—but it's particularly associated with its home state of Alabama. Grapico is mentioned in Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, 1987 best selling novel by Fannie Flagg.[14] | ||
| Green Chile Lemonade | New Mexico | Green chile is an integral component of New Mexico's cuisine—so much so that you can even find lemonade with green chile in it. | ||
| Green River | Illinois | Green River is frequently marketed as a nostalgia item, and its sales increase in March due to the association of the color green with St. Patrick's Day[15] (when the Chicago River turns into a literal green river.) While not widely commercially available, it can be purchased at some Chicago area restaurants and retailers.[16] According to Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman John Fogerty, this drink was the inspiration for the song Green River.[17] | ||
| Ironport | Intermountain West states including Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Nevada. | Described as somewhat of a cross between root beer and Caribbean spices, or root beer and cream soda, ironport (or iron port) is a style of beverage created in the early 20th century and still available at soda fountains in the Western United States. | ||
| Kona Coffee | Hawaii | Kona coffee is the market name for coffee (Coffea arabica) cultivated on the slopes of Hualalai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona Districts of the Big Island of Hawaii. It is one of the most expensive coffees in the world. According to Hawaiian law, only coffee from the Kona Districts can be described as "Kona." Because of the rarity and price of Kona coffee, some retailers sell "Kona Blends"—which are often the minimum required 10% Kona coffee and 90% cheaper imported beans. Some retailers use terms such as "Kona Roast" or "Kona Style," but to be considered authentic Kona coffee, the state of Hawaii's labeling laws require the prominent display of the words "100% Kona Coffee". | ||
| Manhattan Special | New York City | Manhattan Special, made with espresso beans, seltzer water and sugar, has adorned New York City store shelves for over a century. Created in 1895 by Italian immigrant Michael Garavuso, the company's petite glass bottles were once carried to market from their Manhattan Avenue, Brooklyn bottling plant by horse and buggy.[18] | ||
| Mint Milk | New York State (around Syracuse) | You can find mint milk in central New York grocery stores every spring. The green, mint-flavored milk,[19] produced by Byrne Dairy, is a Saint Patrick's Day-themed treat. | ||
| Moxie[20] | Maine, New England and Houston | One of the first mass-produced soft drinks in the United States, this carbonated Gentian-root extract beverage is the official soft drink of Maine.[21] | ||
| Piñon coffee | New Mexico | Pine nut coffee, known as piñón (Spanish for pine nut), is a specialty found in the southwest United States, especially New Mexico, and is typically a dark roast coffee having a deep, nutty flavor; roasted and lightly salted pine nuts can often be found sold on the side of the road in cities across New Mexico to be used for this purpose, as well as a snack. | ||
| POG (Passion Orange Guava) | Hawaii | POG juice is a tropical beverage from the Hawaiian islands made with equal parts passion fruit, orange, and guava juices (hence the name POG). POG was created in 1971 by a food product consultant named Mary Soon, who worked for Haleakala Dairy in Maui. Haleakala Dairy's flat cardboard bottle caps became the inspiration for the popular 1990s game POG. | ||
| Ski | Although the origins to Ski have no known connection to the city of Evansville, Indiana, the product is very popular there, and has become a significant part of the local culture.[22] [23] | A citrus soda made using orange and lemon juice | ||
| Sweet tea[24] | Southern United States | A sugary Southern variant of iced tea. | ||
| Switchel | New England | Switchel—made with apple cider vinegar, ginger, water, and a sweetener like molasses or maple syrup—has been enjoyed by New Englanders for hundreds of years. Colonial-era farm workers, seeking refreshment on hot harvest days, drank switchel out of stone jugs that they kept in the shade. Switchel can be either non-alcoholic or mixed with spirits. In recent years there has been renewed interest in the beverage.[25] | ||
| Vernors | For most of its history, Vernors was a regional product available throughout Michigan and in major regional cities such as Toledo, Cleveland, and Buffalo. It is also popular in Canada, having been sold at Ontario soda fountains from the 1920s onward, and with bottling facilities, soda fountains and outlets located in Southwestern Ontario.[26] It was not mass distributed nationally in the U.S. until the 2000s. | Ginger soda |
See main article: Alcoholic drink.
| Image | Drink Name | Associated regions | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen's Coffee Brandy[27] | Maine and New England | Allen's Coffee Brandy is a coffee-flavoured liqueur popular in New England, especially Maine, where it was the best-selling liquor product from the mid-2000s to 2018 (when it was unseated by Fireball Cinnamon Whisky). | ||
| Boilo | Pennsylvania | Boilo, a variation of a traditional Lithuanian liqueur called "Krupnik" or "Krupnikas," is a spiced citrus drink traditionally enjoyed at Christmastime in Pennsylvania coal country. | ||
| Cohasset Punch | Chicago | Cohasset Punch is a brand of rum-based drink first created by Chicago bartenders Lewis Williams and Tom Newman in the 1890s.[28] Officially classified as a liqueur, Cohasset Punch can also be considered a bottled cocktail or punch. It has been referred to as "the definitive Chicago cocktail", and a 1902 trade journal remarked that "what the mint julep is to the South, Cohasset Punch is to Chicago."[29] Cohasset Punch was produced until the late-1980s, and was relaunched under new ownership in 2024.[30] [31] | ||
| Crémas[32] | Miami | A creamy Haitian drink that can be found in Little Haiti, a section of Miami. Similar to an eggnog, this drink is made with milk, coconut, rum and other ingredients. Also spelled Kremas or Crémasse. | ||
| Horsefeather | Invented in Lawrence, Kansas in the 1990s,[33] it remains a regional drink in the Kansas City region.[34] | A cocktail traditionally prepared using rye whiskey[35] or blended whiskey, ginger beer, three dashes of Angostura bitters, and a little lemon juice.[36] | ||
| Hurricane | New Orleans | The hurricane cocktail is a sweet alcoholic drink made with rum, lemon juice, and passion fruit syrup. It is one of many popular drinks served in New Orleans. It is traditionally served in the tall, curvy eponymous "hurricane glass." Disposable plastic cups are also used for while New Orleans laws permit drinking in public and leaving a bar with a drink, it prohibits public drinking from glass containers. | ||
| Jeppson's Malört | Chicago | Malört, a brand of bäsk, is a wormwood-based Swedish liquor found in Chicago. Due to its exceptionally bitter taste, many imbibers experience "Malört face" on first sampling the drink.[37] | ||
| Mojito | Miami | Mojitos are a rum-based highball cocktail, of Cuban origins, most commonly associated with South Florida. | ||
| Moonshine | Appalachia, Southern United States | A clear and unaged corn mash whiskey most commonly associated with Appalachian & Southeastern states. "White lightning" was both illegal and in great demand during Prohibition. | ||
| National Bohemian[38] | Baltimore | Nearly 90% of 'Natty Boh' sales are in Baltimore, Maryland where this pilsener beer was originally brewed. | ||
| Nutcracker | New York City | Nutcrackers[39] are illegal, generally homemade liquor & juice drinks sold by New York City street vendors. You might hear bootleggers hawking their wares (shouting "Nutcracker!") at city beaches. | ||
| Ramos gin fizz[40] | New Orleans | A frothy cocktail made famous by Louisiana Governor Huey Long. Legend has it that Huey brought his New Orleans bartender with him on a business trip to New York because he couldn't do without his Ramos as perfected by his favorite bartender. He called it “his gift to New York.” | ||
| Sazerac[41] [42] | New Orleans | A cocktail made with rye, absinthe or Herbsaint, Peychaud's Bitters, and sugar. The state of Louisiana named Sazerac the official cocktail of New Orleans in 2008.[43] | ||
| Moonshine | Atlanta, Georgia | A dark fizzy soda and a splash of rum, popular among Floridian cruisers. You might hear a bargoer order "D.C. with rum," which refers to this drink. |