Signature Cocktails of U.S. Regions You Should Know

Every cocktail is born somewhere, but many seem to get absorbed into the collective mixology consciousness. Of those that retain their geographic connections, it’s clear that some have better marketing than others. 

Many already associate the Mint Julep with Kentucky, the Sazerac with New Orleans, and Ranch Water with Texas. And there are the obviously named cocktails like the Alabama Slammer and the Manhattan. But if we dig a little deeper, we find a rich tapestry of regional cocktails all over the country. These drinks often have fascinating, if conflicting, histories and speak to local traditions and flavors.

Some of these drinks enjoy a steadily recognized status on their home turf, like the Horsefeather of Kansas City, Missouri, and the Chimayó Cocktail of New Mexico. Others live on in adapted riffs because of changing ingredient availability, like Nevada’s Picon Punch. 

What makes a cocktail have staying power? Often, it’s the local bars and bartenders that keep the drinks alive, helping to preserve their legacies for years to come. Here are five singular regional cocktails you should know.

Alaska: Duck Fart

With a name like “Duck Fart,” a drink is guaranteed to make a lasting impression. Luckily, that impression is often a good one, as the shot is exponentially more appealing than its moniker. Gross-out humor coupled with crowd-pleasing flavors has made the Duck Fart a beloved Alaskan treat.

Some trace the Duck Fart’s origins to Peanut Farm in Anchorage, the state’s largest sports bar. In the 1980s, a bartender and a regular supposedly experimented with sweet and creamy layered shots like the B-52, and created a similar drink with a layer of Kahlúa, a layer of Bailey’s Irish Cream, and a top layer of Crown Royal whiskey.

The drink’s name may have come from the regular’s duck-bill-like hat, or the sound a person might make after downing the concoction. Eric Forst, co-owner and general manager of Red Dog Saloon in Juneau, points to a different story.

According to Forst, in the early 1900s, a mining team was snowed in at a Fairbanks bar. Having drunk through the entire booze supply, legend has it they squeezed bar mats into glasses, creating something that would taste about as good as a duck fart. The tale eventually became tied to the layered shot.

Red Dog, itself, has been around since the early 1900s, and has made the Duck Fart for decades. Forst believes the drink is likely older than those experiments at Peanut Farm. When he and his wife bought Red Dog in 2008, they saw how patrons consistently requested it. They placed it on the menu as a featured item and helped its status soar. 

“We went from selling 50 or 100 a day to selling up to 600 a day,” says Forst. “It’s just developed over the years, getting out into the world via social media.” 

While other bars might mix the three ingredients, Red Dog bartenders take the time to layer them. When guests order it, they happily comply with the bar’s three rules for the shot: No sipping, no stirring, and no sharing. Red Dog’s Duck Fart mantra is, “Quack, quack, knock that shit back.” And yes, patrons really do quack.

Indianapolis, Indiana: Elmo Cola

The Elmo Cola was created in 2011 at St. Elmo Steakhouse, an Indianapolis institution since 1902. 

“In essence, the Elmo Cola is an elevated, adult version of a cherry cola,” says Kerry Wafford, a St. Elmo manager who has worked at the restaurant for 40 years, and helped in the cocktail’s creation. “We start by infusing bourbon with natural dark cherry and vanilla for about a week. The finished drink is served by pouring two ounces of the infused bourbon over ice, accompanied by a glass bottle of Coca-Cola on the side.” 

Elmo Cola is the restaurant’s best-selling cocktail. Its reach has grown over the years as Huse Culinary, the restaurant and retail group behind St. Elmo, began selling it at their other four restaurants. And, in 2019, they partnered with Cardinal Spirits to launch a ready-to-drink bottled version of the infused bourbon to be mixed with cola. Soon, Elmo Cola became synonymous with Indianapolis. 

There’s now a canned Elmo Cola available throughout the Midwest, and bars as far as California are making their own versions. 

“They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and when you create something truly unique, it’s only natural that others may try to replicate it,” says Wafford. “We just hope they’re using our bottled version of the cherry-infused bourbon.”

Maryland (and Delaware): Orange Crush

If you’ve ever spent a weekend in a Maryland or Delaware shore town, you’ve likely seen the Orange Crush featured on a cocktail menu. 

With orange-flavored vodka, triple sec, “freshly crushed” (juiced) oranges, and lemon-lime soda, the drink is so popular that Maryland and Delaware have battled over who can claim it as their own. As it happens, they both can. Delaware declared the Orange Crush its official state cocktail in 2024, arguing it became famous in Dewey Beach. And Maryland followed suit by making it official in 2025. 

Even Delaware can’t dispute that the drink was born in Ocean City, Maryland. It debuted at Harborside Bar & Grill in 1995, which proudly boasts “Home of the Original Fresh Squeezed Orange Crush” on and offline. The drink was such a hit that it spread throughout the state and into Delaware as well as Virginia. 

Also established in 1995, the Delaware-based brewery Dogfish Head has staked a flag in the Crush cocktail, producing canned versions of the drink. The brewery has released a Grapefruit Pomegranate variation and a Blood Orange Mango flavor, which Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione says is one of their best-selling ready-to-drink expressions.

“We respect the Crush Cocktail’s regional history, and with our Blood Orange Mango Vodka Crush, we are paying homage to that history in our own off-centered way,” says Calagione. “It’s awesome seeing the Crush getting some love outside the area. It’s too tasty for folks not to enjoy it in other regions.”

Raleigh, North Carolina: Cherry Bounce

The Cherry Bounce wasn’t a North Carolina creation — it can be traced to 17th-century England — but the drink is intrinsically tied to the Tar Heel state’s capital. 

The cherry cordial, traditionally made by steeping cherries and sugar in brandy, was a favorite of George Washington’s in the 1700s. Legend has it that in 1788, the North Carolina General Assembly recognized the need to declare an official seat of government. Raleigh’s future as North Carolina’s capital was locked when delegates traveled out to look at land and meet at the tavern, Joel Lane’s. They supposedly sipped on Cherry Bounces, bought land from Lane for their courthouse, and the rest is history.

Foundation, a Raleigh bar with a focus on local ingredients, often has Cherry Bounce in its cocktails. But if a guest orders the cherry cordial off-menu, they technically have the drink ready to pour. Bar manager Kyle Hankin makes his with a combination of brandy and rye whiskey. 

The bar recently featured a Manhattan with Cherry Bounce, replacing sweet vermouth, and served with house-made brandied cherries for garnish. 

“It was originally done with brandy, but people have also always used what they had around…from corn liquor to unaged apple brandy,” says Hankin. “In western North Carolina, they used moonshine because that’s what they made there.” 

The Cherry Bounce isn’t as ubiquitous as something like the Orange Crush in Maryland, says Hankin, “but if you’re talking to liquor nerds or North Carolina history nerds, they care deeply about it because it’s the reason Raleigh is here.”

Wisconsin: Brandy Old Fashioned

In recent years, Wisconsin’s brandy-based Old Fashioned variation has become more well-known beyond the state’s borders. 

“They’re really common to get all over the state,” says John Dye, owner of Milwaukee’s oldest cocktail bar, Bryant’s Cocktail Lounge, established in 1938. “You’ll find them everywhere, including people’s basement bars. It’s our number one or two best seller.”

Why brandy and why in Wisconsin? Dye points to the generally accepted explanation of brandy producer Korbel showing at the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. Many Wisconsinites would have attended, and brandy would have been an easy sell, especially among the large population of German immigrants in the area. But it’s even likelier that Old Fashioneds made with brandy were a mid-century marketing scheme targeted at driving brandy sales, says Dye.

If that’s the case, the marketing was highly successful. 

While Dye says there are absolutely still orders for whiskey Old Fashioneds, brandy reigns supreme. It’s even tradition for many to use Korbel’s brandy — Wisconsinites are responsible for half of Korbel’s brandy sales. 

Besides the brandy base, it’s important to know how you can order (or make at home) a Wisconsin Old Fashioned. “Sweet” is made with 7-Up or Sprite, “sour” is with sour mix or Squirt, “grass” refers to a 50/50 split of Squirt and sour mix, and “press” is a 50/50 split of 7-Up or Sprite and seltzer. 

The classic garnish on a Wisconsin Old Fashioned is a slice of orange and cherry, but olives, pickled vegetables, and cocktail onions can be included depending on the style of drink you’ve ordered. 

Like any of the drinks on this list, it’s worth trying at home, but even more special to enjoy in its natural habitat.