The United States of Whiskey

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we’re taking a look at the whiskeys — from Ireland and elsewhere — beloved by people across the nation.

Nearly 10% of America’s population can trace its roots to Ireland, which helps to explain why St. Patrick’s Day is so widely celebrated in the US. Another explanation, though, could be that this holiday commemorating Ireland’s patron saint represents a great opportunity to drink whiskey. This beloved dark liquor is believed to have originated in Ireland in the early 15th century, and though it’s been mastered by distilleries in Scotland, Kentucky, and even Japan, whiskey is still seen by most people to be as Irish as clovers and leprechauns.

To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this year, we’re looking at our list of The Best Tasting Whiskey and finding out which states love which whiskey brands. Some of Americans’ top choices include Irish whiskeys like Jameson, though others are from places like Canada, the US, and Scotland. Take a look to see if your favorite spirit is on the map.

Maker’s Mark covers more of the map than any other brand on the list — it’s a bourbon produced in Kentucky, one of 13 states to cite Maker’s Mark as its No. 1 whiskey. In second place is another Kentucky bourbon, Woodford Reserve, with 12 states favoring it above all others. The Irish brand Jameson secured third place with eight states, including Massachusetts, which boasts the highest Irish-American population in the nation.

Beyond the Top 3, other whiskey brands failed to pick up more than two states. Despite being the best-selling whiskey brand in the country, Jack Daniel’s is the top choice of only Tennessee — though, since whiskey is one of the state’s Top 10 exports, it’s a good state to have in your corner. Jim Beam is a similarly popular brand whose great sales aren’t really reflected by this graphic, as the only state that picked it was Florida. Johnnie Walker’s top states were split among its respective brands: Johnnie Walker Blue Label is #1 in Virginia, while Johnnie Walker Black Label is the top choice among voters in both Arkansas and Hawaii.

Though most Americans will celebrate this year’s holiday at home, we still want to encourage our readers to celebrate responsibly! We from Ranker wish you all a very safe, socially distanced St. Patrick’s Day.

These stories are crafted using Ranker Insights, which takes over one billion votes cast on Ranker.com and converts them into actionable psychographics about pop culture fans across the world. To learn more about how our Ranker Insights can be customized to serve your business needs, visit insights.ranker.com, or email us at insights@ranker.com.

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