This Map Reveals Each State’s Favorite Cocktail — And We Have Thoughts
Wondering which cocktail is favored by your state or what someone in New York might order that someone in North Dakota may not? There’s a map for that.
Some people may prefer a cold beer, but there are plenty of people who love to unwind with a cocktail at the end of a long day. Drinks fall in and out of fashion — the espresso martini, for example, had a pandemic-era renaissance despite being a firmly 20th century drink — but have you ever wondered which cocktail is favored by your state or what someone in New York might order that someone in North Dakota may not? Well, there’s a map for that.
TOP Agency, a marketing agency that delivers business, consumer, and marketing insights, wanted to learn more about which cocktails were favored across the country. “Cocktails have always been popular, but after two years of lockdown it seems Americans have grown to appreciate them even more,” TOP Agency says, citing happy hour visits are up 54% compared to pre-pandemic numbers.
To find out which drinks are taking the top spot in each state, the team at TOP Agency analyzed 2022 digital commerce trends, used GPS tracking data from bars, and surveyed 1,000 people to find out how often they visit the bars. They pooled all that data to find out the most popular cocktails in the U.S.
Overall, there was one very clear winner. If there were an award for the most-loved cocktail in the United States, this drink would win without any competition, and it’s really not a shocker what it is.
“The margarita was revealed to be the favorite cocktail overall,” TOP Agency states, “with 22 states claiming it as their most-loved.” It makes sense because, well, a margarita is a margarita — you can’t really go wrong with tequila, lime juice, orange liqueur, and salt on the rim.
The second most-loved cocktail across the country is the piña colada with 10 states naming it as its favorite, and the Martini came in third place. Other drinks that made the list of top favorites in at least one state include the Bloody Mary, the old fashioned, and the cosmopolitan.
The agency also looked into which states visit bars more often than others, and the top five states with the most bar visits per 100,000 inhabitants are North Dakota, Nevada, Wyoming, Arizona, and Colorado. (No Wisconsin?) The states that visit the bar the least often, according to TOP Agency’s data, include Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Vermont, and Kentucky.
To be honest, we’re just confused that the margarita didn’t take all 50 states. But, you can’t account for taste!
To check out more interesting findings, you can view the full report on TOP Agency.
