23 Famous Cocktails from Across the Country

While it's impossible to catalog the incredible variety found in cocktails in the U.S., we've detailed an impressive list of some of the greatest hits among American cocktail recipes.

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Alabama: Lynchburg Lemonade

This boozy lemonade is named after the home of Jack Daniel’s distillery in Alabama. The recipe consists of Jack Daniels, Cointreau, syrup and a lemon-lime mixture. Here are a few more spiked lemonade drinks.

Here are 10 things your bartender wishes you’d stop doing.

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Delicious cocktail with peppermint; Shutterstock ID 601784084; job: Taste of Home
Shutterstock/alexat25

Arizona: This Conflagration Nation

This complicated drink has an equally complex inspiration. Created by Brandon Casey in Phoenix, Arizona, the smoky strength in this glass symbolizes the gunpowder fired during the War of 1812. As a bonus, this drink is notable for having the flexibility to be mixed with cheap whiskeys and still maintain its flavor.

Don’t miss these 18 vintage recipes from early America.

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Alaska: Smoked Salmon Mary

Adding in beef stock, hot sauce and horseradish to the classic Bloody Mary, this cocktail uses smoked salmon vodka straight from the Alaska Distillery to serve as the drink’s base flavor. Interesting and spicy!

This is the secret to the best-ever Bloody Mary.

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Brandy Old Fashioned
Taste of Home

Kentucky: Old-Fashioned

Sometimes referred to as the original American cocktail recipe, the Old-Fashioned was created by James Pepper in 1880 at the Pendennis Club in Kentucky.

In Wisconsin, we take our Old-Fashioneds sweet. Get the recipe here.

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blackberry cocktail; Shutterstock ID 317266778; Job (TFH, TOH, RD, BNB, CWM, CM): Taste of Home
Shutterstock/Mateusz Gzik

Arkansas: Cropduster

This drink from Arkansas uses gin, lemon juice and liqueur to make a palate of creamy, flavorful berries with a dark, rich texture.

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Homemade New Orleans Sazerac Cocktail with Bitters and Rye
Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock

Louisiana: Sazerac

Hailing from the Sazerac Coffee House in New Orleans and predating the American Civil War, Sazerac is a mix of Cognac, bitters, sugar and absinthe. Many bartenders substitute rye whiskey for Cognac.

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Homemade Rye Bourbon Manhattan with a Cherry Garnish
Photo: Shutterstock/Brent Hofacker

New York: Manhattan

One of the most popular American cocktail recipes of all time, this New York drink was first formulated in 1874 during a party hosted by Winston Churchill’s mother. Because why not? Follow the recipe carefully—a proper Manhattan requires a special step just for the ice.

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Homemade Alcoholic Vesper Martini with a Lemon Twist; Shutterstock ID 1098618356; Job (TFH, TOH, RD, BNB, CWM, CM): Taste of Home
Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock

Idaho: The Vesper Reconsidered

Not all American cocktail recipes were created in trendy nightclubs or gentleman lounges during some bygone era—The Vesper Reconsidered is a staple of Boise, Idaho, featuring vodka made from local potatoes, Lillet Blanc and bitters.

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summer drink; Shutterstock ID 648319786; job: Taste of Home
Shutterstock/Shebeko

New York: Mamie Taylor

Named for the famous Broadway star (who spelled her name Mayme) in 1899, this scotch and lemon drink with ginger syrup, ale or beer stands the test of time and was probably the inspiration for the Moscow Mule.

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Cold Refreshing Classic Mint Julep with Mint and Bourbon; Shutterstock ID 413734351; job: Taste of Home
Shutterstock/Brent Hofacker

Kentucky: Mint Julep

Farmers created this drink at the turn of the 18th century in America’s rural Midwest (yes, Kentucky is considered Midwest). The drink gained notoriety at the Kentucky Derby during a promotional event in 1938. From then on, this bourbon-based, mint-laced drink was a popular Kentucky staple.

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White Russian cocktail or Lebowski
Alexey Andr Tkachenko/Shutterstock

California: White Russian

Another classic American cocktail recipe, the White Russian was named by the Oakland Tribune in California in 1965. The vodka and cream mixture is more straightforward than many of the drinks on this list, but it is no less American, despite the name.

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Strawberry margarita cocktails; Shutterstock ID 310081457; Job (TFH, TOH, RD, BNB, CWM, CM): Taste of Home
Shutterstock/Alexander Prokopenko

Wisconsin: The Patriot

Mixed with vodka, lime juice, agave nectar, tomatoes, basil, salt and pepper, The Patriot is a hearty, double-strained drink that rushes taste buds in waves. Created in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by Emily Evans.

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New Jersey: Gin Rickey

Made popular in New Jersey just before the Great Depression, the Gin Rickey is made with its eponymous liquor, gin, plus lime juice and carbonated water.

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Sex on the beach Cocktail
Photo: Shutterstock/Piotr Krzeslak

Florida: Sex on the Beach

Some attribute this famous Floridian cocktail to a bartender named Ted who supposedly invented the recipe in 1987 to win a peach schnapps sales promotion. While Ted and the schnapps promotion helped popularize the drink, the American Bartender’s School originally published the recipe as early as 1982.

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Louisiana: Ramos Gin Fizz

Also known as the New Orleans Fizz, this drink is insanely popular at Mardi Gras to this day.

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Homemade Boozy Old Fashioned Cocktail with Whiskey and a Sphere Ice Cube; Shutterstock ID 656783038; job: Taste of Home
Shutterstock/Brent Hofacker

Georgia: Of Thread and Theory

A historically-loaded American cocktail recipe, this drink was formulated and made famous by Greg Best, a bartender out of Atlanta, Georgia. This mix of rum, bitters, apple cider vinegar and sorghum syrup is a well-known southern-style drink.

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summer drink; Shutterstock ID 648319786; job: Taste of Home
Shutterstock/Shebeko

New York: Floradora

This 1890s relic mixes gin and ginger beer for a piney taste that’s simply great for the holidays and for supplementing appetizers or sipping with our tastier desserts.

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Red drink in cocktail glass; Shutterstock ID 178198907; job: Taste of Home
Shutterstock/Realmo Muronhi

Colorado: Tree Line

Created in Colorado to mimic the open wilderness familiar to the state, this cocktail won the state’s Colorado Cocktail Contest with a combination of whiskey, alpine herbal liqueur, lemon juice, and market cherries. The drink’s final color is a deep red, indicative of the reddish, oxidized dirt commonly found in Colorado’s hiking trails.

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New York: Firecracker

The brewchild of mixologist Duane Fernandez Jr. of New York City, this American classic is a savory July Fourth drink consisting of rum, syrup, Peychaud’s bitters and absinthe, and garnished with three red grapes.

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a cocktail with gin, lime and cucumberaa; Shutterstock ID 644670775; Job (TFH, TOH, RD, BNB, CWM, CM): Taste of Home
Shutterstock/gostua

Rhode Island: New Cucumber

One of Rhode Island’s signature drinks, this vodka and liqueur masterpiece uses fresh cucumbers for flavor. The cucumber flavor is strong enough to make you think about wonderful summertime cucumber recipes.

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Glass of ice tea with lemon; Shutterstock ID 139590926; job: Taste of Home
Shutterstock/udra11

Pennsylvania: Fish House Punch

This strong, fruity drink, associated with Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is one of the oldest American cocktail recipes, dating all the way back to 1744. It’s a drink intended to be served at parties in large batches.

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Whiskey ; Shutterstock ID 359094287; job: Taste of Home
Shutterstock/Nishihama

Texas: Midnight Oil

This drink comes from Austin, Texas, and is infused with both alcohol and caffeine, created specifically for oil field workers on long or double shifts. The drink includes vanilla extract and ginger to add depth to its rum base. The flavors in this drink are, oddly enough, complemented well by sesame-ginger popcorn.

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Fresh home made cosmopolitan cocktails with garnish; Shutterstock ID 483955966; job: Taste of Home
The Jasmine/Shutterstock

California: The Jasmine

This hundred-year-old drink from California mixes Campari, Cointreau, gin and lemon juice. The result is a delicious, sour cocktail.