Advertiser Disclosure

Many of the credit card offers that appear on this site are from credit card companies from which we receive financial compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). However, the credit card information that we publish has been written and evaluated by experts who know these products inside out. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers that are on the market. See our advertising policy here where we list advertisers that we work with, and how we make money. You can also review our credit card rating methodology.

Vacation in a Glass! Here Are the Most Popular Cocktails Around the U.S.

Alex Miller's image
Alex Miller
Alex Miller's image

Alex Miller

Founder & CEO

286 Published Articles

Countries Visited: 34U.S. States Visited: 29

Founder and CEO of Upgraded Points, Alex is a leader in the industry and has earned and redeemed millions of points and miles. He frequently discusses the award travel industry with CNBC, Fox Business...
Edited by: Keri Stooksbury
Keri Stooksbury's image

Keri Stooksbury

Editor-in-Chief

29 Published Articles 3051 Edited Articles

Countries Visited: 45U.S. States Visited: 28

With years of experience in corporate marketing and as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, Keri is now Editor-in-Chief at UP, overseeing daily content operations and r...

We may be compensated when you click on product links, such as credit cards, from one or more of our advertising partners. Terms apply to the offers below. See our Advertising Policy for more about our partners, how we make money, and our rating methodology. Opinions and recommendations are ours alone.

Just like the smell of sunscreen or the sound of a rolling suitcase, a special occasion cocktail can be the key to a vacation mindset. During travel times complicated by the global pandemic, a fun cocktail has helped make evenings at home feel like virtual getaways.

As a result, Americans have been turning to Google over the past year for at-home cocktail inspiration — both for brand new recipes to try and for recipes to concoct their tried and true favorites at home. In fact, search interest for “cocktail recipes” in March of 2020 was nearly double what it was in March of 2019. 

While it’s no surprise that Americans have been making cocktails to spice up monotonous quarantine days, we did wonder: which cocktails have been most popular for Americans looking for flavorful escapes? Did Northerners sip on beachy piña coladas to transport them to warmer weather? Did Kentuckians muddle mint juleps even when Churchill Downs was closed?

To determine Americans’ favorite quarantine-era cocktails, we first compiled a list of the most common and most popular cocktails around the U.S. Next, we pored over Google Trends data from the past 12 months for each cocktail to see which one Americans searched for the most.

We analyzed the results on both a state-by-state basis and a national level. Additionally, we looked at seasonal trends by determining the most searched cocktails in both the warm weather months of spring and summer (3/19/20 through 9/22/20) and the cold weather months of fall and winter (9/23/20 – 12/31/20).

It has to be five o’clock somewhere, so take a seat and see what we uncovered!

UpgradedPoints FavoriteCocktails 1 StateMap

Most Popular Cocktails 1

First up, we looked at the most popular cocktails in every state.

The mimosa was the top-searched cocktail in 6 states from Colorado to Maryland. The classic brunch blend of orange juice and Champagne is the perfect drink for switching up boring breakfasts with at-home brunches. It’s hard not to feel a little brighter when sipping on the fizzy, citrusy drink during a Zoom brunch with friends or while recreating your favorite diner’s pancakes at home. Still, it is interesting to see so many searches for a libation that’s quite simple to concoct.

The next most popular cocktails were the Pina Colada, the Wine Cooler, the White Russian, the Margarita, and the Mojito (all in three states each). All of these drinks aren’t exactly casual, everyday drinks, making it especially interesting that they would find popularity in such geographic ranges. For instance, the piña colada was the top-searched cocktail in both New Jersey and New Mexico; the White Russian was the top-searched drink in Alaska and West Virginia; the mojito was the top-searched drink in Washington and Virginia. All of this goes to say that no matter where you live, a fun cocktail is a plane ticket to flavor!

Some standout popular cocktails included Mississippi’s favorite, the old-fashioned, which Mississippians hopefully mix up using some local, Southern whiskey. The cosmopolitan earned unexpected popularity in Vermont.

Most Popular Warm and Cold Weather Cocktails

Next, we took a deep dive into the most popular warm-weather cocktails in the U.S. After all, we know that Americans love to use their credit card points to explore warm locales like the Caribbean and even South America. People likely turned to refreshing, cool cocktails in their own homes to recreate the tropical vacation experience as they stayed home during the warmer months.

Most Popular Warm Weather Cocktails in Every U.S. State

During the spring and summer months, the top-searched cocktails included the Painkiller, the margarita, and the appletini. 

For those who aren’t familiar with a Painkiller, it is the ultimate beachy drink, complete with pineapple juice, rum, and orange juice. In states like Rhode Island and Massachusetts, people were making the most of their socially-distanced northern summers by making some of these cocktails. We only hope they had some lobster rolls to go with them.

Indeed, during the summer months, we were glad to see that the top-searched drink in Kentucky was the mint julep. Maybe Kentuckians put on their hats and muddled some mint for at-home derby celebrations after all!

There were some standout drinks over the warm weather months that we didn’t expect to see. For instance, in Arkansas, where you may expect humidity-burdened residents to prepare a refreshing drink, the top-searched cocktail was the dry martini, which may be better suited for a cozy, steakhouse dinner in the city.

The popularity of the martini made us wonder about which drinks Americans were drinking during the winter months.

We weren’t sure what we would see in terms of popular cold-weather drinks. After all, some Americans may have used summery cocktails to escape their cold confines during the pandemic. Still, others may have missed the liquid heat that they usually sip on at crowded bars during the cold months.

Most Popular Cocktails in the US Winter

We found that, generally, people chose to pour themselves some liquid sunshine. Nationally, the top 3 cold-weather cocktails were the mimosa, the margarita, and the Moscow mule. Interestingly, all 3 of these drinks call special occasions to mind, be it an endless mimosa brunch or a cheese board dinner with fizzy Moscow mules. Perhaps Americans were finding new ways to celebrate theme nights as quarantine lasted through the winter months.

On the other hand, some states got really into spiked warm drinks. For instance, in chilly Wyoming, residents were searching for hot buttered rum, a cold-weather drink filled with rum, butter, hot water or cider, and a sweet twist. We can only imagine how comforting a hot buttered rum would taste after a day spent safely exploring the wonders of Yellowstone.

Final Thoughts 

Overall, we had fun exploring Americans’ favorite cocktails over the past year. Even imagining crisp appletinis and punchy margaritas had us remembering our silliest Zoom cocktail hours and at-home theme nights.

In the end, the cocktails that Americans searched for showed that people were willing to treat themselves to some fun, delicious flavors even when they couldn’t head to local bars or travel to destination restaurants.

With that being said, we are excited to travel safely again in the near future. So here’s to sipping our favorite drinks in our favorite places soon!

Alex Miller's image

About Alex Miller

Founder and CEO of Upgraded Points, Alex is a leader in the industry and has earned and redeemed millions of points and miles. He frequently discusses the award travel industry with CNBC, Fox Business, The New York Times, and more.

INSIDERS ONLY: UP PULSE

Deluxe Travel Provided by UP Pulse

Get the latest travel tips, crucial news, flight & hotel deal alerts...

Plus — expert strategies to maximize your points & miles by joining our (free) newsletter.

We respect your privacy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA. Google's privacy policy and terms of service apply.

Deluxe Travel Provided by UP Pulse
DMCA.com Protection Status