List of U.S. State Drinks and Beverages
Milk is the most common official state beverage, but some states choose local specialties like coffee milk, Moxie, Orange Crush, and Picon Punch. This list covers official state drinks, beverages, spirits, cocktails, juices, and soft drinks.
Quick Answer
What matters most
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As of 2026, 33 U.S. states have at least one official drink-related symbol, for a total of 40 state beverage, spirit, cocktail, juice, and soft-drink designations.
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Milk is by far the most common choice. Twenty states designate milk as an official state beverage or state drink.
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Ohio was the first known state to adopt an official beverage, choosing tomato juice in 1965.
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Several states have more than one drink designation. Maryland, Delaware, Nebraska, South Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin all appear more than once on this list.
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The newest additions on this page include Delaware's Orange Crush in 2024 and Maryland's Orange Crush plus Nevada's Picon Punch in 2025.
Map
Official U.S. State Drinks and Beverages
| State | Official Drink |
|---|---|
| Alabama | Clyde May's Whiskey |
| Arizona | Lemonade |
| Arkansas | Milk |
| Delaware | Milk; Orange Crush |
| Florida | Orange Juice |
| Hawaii | ʻAwa |
| Indiana | Water |
| Kentucky | Milk |
| Louisiana | Milk |
| Maine | Moxie |
| Maryland | Milk; Rye Whiskey; Orange Crush |
| Massachusetts | Cranberry Juice |
| Minnesota | Milk |
| Mississippi | Milk |
| Nebraska | Milk; Kool-Aid |
| Nevada | Picon Punch |
| New Hampshire | Apple Cider |
| New Jersey | Cranberry Juice |
| New York | Milk |
| North Carolina | Milk |
| North Dakota | Milk |
| Ohio | Tomato Juice |
| Oklahoma | Milk |
| Oregon | Milk |
| Pennsylvania | Milk |
| Rhode Island | Coffee Milk |
| South Carolina | Milk; South Carolina-grown Tea |
| South Dakota | Milk |
| Tennessee | Milk |
| Vermont | Milk |
| Virginia | Milk; George Washington's Rye Whiskey |
| Washington | Coffee |
| Wisconsin | Milk; Brandy Old Fashioned |
States use a wide range of drink-related symbols, from milk and fruit juices to local cocktails, spirits, and soft drinks.
List of US State Beverages
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Image
|
State
|
Official Drink
|
Designation
|
Year Adopted
|
Quick Fact
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Alabama
|
Clyde May's Whiskey | State spirit | 2004 | One of the few states to pick a spirit instead of a general beverage. |
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Arizona
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Lemonade | State drink | 2019 | Arizona chose a hot-weather refresher rather than an agricultural commodity. |
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Arkansas
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Milk | State drink | 1985 | One of twenty states that use milk as an official beverage symbol. |
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Delaware
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Milk | State drink | 1983 | Delaware has both an older dairy symbol and a newer cocktail designation. |
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Delaware
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Orange Crush | State cocktail | 2024 | A very recent addition tied to Delaware's beach and summer tourism culture. |
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Florida
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Orange Juice | State beverage | 1967 | One of the clearest examples of a state beverage tied directly to a signature crop. |
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Hawaii
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ʻAwa | State drink | 2018 | Hawaii's choice reflects Indigenous tradition rather than a modern commercial drink. |
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Indiana
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Water | State beverage | 2007 | A rare symbolic choice built around simplicity and public-health messaging. |
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Kentucky
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Milk | State drink | 2005 | Kentucky chose milk even though the state is globally famous for bourbon. |
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Louisiana
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Milk | State drink | 1983 | Louisiana's statewide designation is milk, not the better-known Sazerac. |
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Maine
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Moxie | State soft drink | 2005 | One of the most distinctive drink symbols in the country, tied to a specific brand. |
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Maryland
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Milk | State beverage | 1998 | Maryland later expanded beyond milk into both spirits and cocktails. |
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Maryland
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Rye Whiskey | State spirit | 2023 | A modern nod to Maryland's historic rye-distilling reputation. |
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Maryland
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Orange Crush | State cocktail | 2025 | One of the most recent official drink designations on any state list. |
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Massachusetts
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Cranberry Juice | State beverage | 1970 | A crop-based designation that matches the state's cranberry bog identity. |
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Minnesota
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Milk | State drink | 1984 | Part of the large block of Upper Midwest states that selected milk. |
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Mississippi
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Milk | State beverage | 1984 | Mississippi used the beverage category to recognize agriculture more than novelty. |
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Nebraska
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Milk | State beverage | 1998 | Nebraska is one of the few states with both a general beverage and a soft drink. |
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Nebraska
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Kool-Aid | State soft drink | 1998 | Nebraska chose Kool-Aid because the drink was invented there. |
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Nevada
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Picon Punch | State cocktail | 2025 | A recent cocktail designation rooted in Nevada's Basque heritage. |
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New Hampshire
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Apple Cider | State beverage | 2010 | A seasonal choice that reflects New Hampshire orchard culture. |
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New Jersey
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Cranberry Juice | State juice | 2023 | A narrow category label tied to the state's cranberry-growing region. |
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New York
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Milk | State beverage | 1981 | New York's beverage symbol highlights the state's major dairy industry. |
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North Carolina
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Milk | State beverage | 1987 | A classic agriculture-first beverage designation. |
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North Dakota
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Milk | State beverage | 1983 | North Dakota followed the same dairy-symbol pattern as many neighboring states. |
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Ohio
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Tomato Juice | State beverage | 1965 | The earliest official state beverage on the books, as far as current records show. |
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Oklahoma
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Milk | State beverage | 2002 | A late adoption of the familiar milk-as-agriculture-symbol formula. |
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Oregon
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Milk | State beverage | 1997 | Oregon used a broad agricultural symbol rather than a region-specific drink. |
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Pennsylvania
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Milk | State beverage | 1982 | Pennsylvania's beverage designation fits the state's deep dairy tradition. |
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Rhode Island
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Coffee Milk | State drink | 1993 | A highly local specialty and one of the most distinctive beverage symbols in the U.S. |
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South Carolina
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Milk | State beverage | 1984 | South Carolina later added a second, more specialized hospitality drink. |
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South Carolina
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South Carolina-grown Tea | State hospitality beverage | 1995 | A tourism-facing designation rooted in the state's tea-growing tradition. |
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South Dakota
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Milk | State beverage | 1986 | Another Plains-state example of milk as an agricultural symbol. |
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Tennessee
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Milk | State beverage | 2009 | Tennessee picked milk for the state beverage category, not whiskey. |
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Vermont
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Milk | State beverage | 1983 | One of the most intuitive milk designations because of Vermont's dairy identity. |
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Virginia
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Milk | State beverage | 1982 | Virginia later expanded the category with a separate official state spirit. |
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Virginia
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George Washington's Rye Whiskey | State spirit | 2017 | Tied directly to Mount Vernon and George Washington's distilling operation. |
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Washington
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Coffee | State beverage | 2011 | One of the most culturally obvious pairings on the list. |
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Wisconsin
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Milk | State beverage | 1987 | Wisconsin combines a classic dairy symbol with a highly local cocktail tradition. |
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Wisconsin
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Brandy Old Fashioned | State cocktail | 2023 | A rare cocktail symbol built around supper clubs and local drinking culture. |
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What Counts as a State Drink or State Beverage?
In practice, this category is wider than the phrase state beverage suggests. Some legislatures used broad labels like state beverage or state drink. Others created narrower categories such as state spirit, state cocktail, state juice, state soft drink, or state hospitality beverage. For readers, these all belong in the same family: officially designated drinks.
That broader approach makes the list more useful. If a state has an official spirit but no official beverage, the spirit still answers the same public question: what drink has the state formally chosen to represent itself? Alabama, Maryland, Virginia, Nevada, Delaware, and Wisconsin all illustrate why the umbrella category matters.
Why Milk Dominates the List
Milk became the default state beverage for a simple reason: it works as a clean, noncontroversial agricultural symbol. Legislatures could support dairy farmers, school nutrition messaging, and rural industry all at once without attaching the symbol to a single brand.
That is why milk appears across very different regions, from Vermont and Wisconsin to Oklahoma and South Carolina. It is less a statement about local uniqueness than a statement about agriculture, everyday consumption, and farm identity.
The downside is that milk-heavy lists can feel repetitive. The more memorable entries often come from states that picked something more specific to place, history, or local food culture.
States With More Than One Official Drink Symbol
A small group of states use the category more creatively by designating more than one official drink-related symbol. Delaware has milk and Orange Crush. Maryland has milk, rye whiskey, and Orange Crush. Nebraska has milk and Kool-Aid. South Carolina has milk and South Carolina-grown tea. Virginia has milk and George Washington's Rye Whiskey. Wisconsin has milk and the brandy old fashioned.
These multi-part systems usually happen when an older agricultural symbol remains in place and a later legislature adds a more distinctive local specialty. That pattern lets states keep a traditional farm-facing symbol while also recognizing a drink that feels more culturally specific.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many states have an official state drink or beverage?
What is the most common state beverage?
Which state was first to adopt an official beverage?
Do all state drink symbols use the label state beverage?
Which states have more than one official drink symbol?
What are the newest state drink designations?
Methodology
How we researched this list
This page includes statewide official drink-related symbols adopted by U.S. states, including state beverages, state drinks, state spirits, state cocktails, state juices, state soft drinks, and comparable categories. City-only recognitions and the District of Columbia are not included here because this project focuses on the 50 states. Adoption years reflect the year the designation was enacted or formally recognized.
Sources
Sources & references
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1
List of U.S. state beverages
Reference list covering official state beverages, state drinks, spirits, cocktails, and related designations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_beverages -
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State legislature, archives, and secretary of state symbol records
General reference point for state-symbol legislation and official symbol programs.
https://www.ncsl.org/ -
3
Wikipedia - latest accepted revision reviewed February 28, 2026
Useful for checking recent additions such as Delaware's, Maryland's, and Nevada's cocktail designations.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_beverages
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