Here is PROOF Iowa is Actually Ridiculously Fancy

Okay, I'm going to need you to bear with me here. You see, in order to figure out a couple of my points, I had to dive kind of deep, right? I wanted to prove that a state that's known for its important and frankly amazing farmers, and skilled laborers and is generally perceived as very blue-collar, is still fancy.

The way I'm going to prove we're more than just a tad fancy is by telling you what Iowan's three favorite drinks are. Oh, by drinks I mean alcoholic ones of course. Cocktails, if you would.

Iowans love fancy booze

So on the surface, that statement just seems wrong, right? We love Busch Lattes and (generally) cheap booze. Tito's was our favorite liquor in 2023, and while it's not a discount vodka by any stretch, it's also not very expensive. Either is Black Velvet, which ranked number 2 for 2023.

Buuut, there's more to "booze" than just straight hard liquor. There's cocktails, too. And THAT is where I have discovered Iowans be fancy, y'all!

What's in that? Sounds expensive

I'll explain the metrics behind our three favorite cocktails in a moment, but first, here they are... our favorite cocktails, which prove we're fancy...

1. Marti (Dry vermouth, gin, or vodka, garnished with a lemon twist and olive)
2. Penicillin (Scotch whisky, ginger, honey syrup, and fresh lemon juice)
3. Old Fashioned (This one varies, but is usually bourbon or rye whiskey, a sugar cube, a few dashes of bitters, and a splash of water)

Now those are some fancy cocktails, no? When I think of a cocktail you don't drink with your pinky up, I think of the Long Island Ice Tea, or a Jack and Coke, or maybe a screwdriver. When I think fancy, I think of the three above.

The "science"

How did I find this info? It's hardly science. Simply a couple of quick searches. First off, the most recent Vine Pair study on the most popular cocktails, in which the top 50 were selected. Using those options, popping "cocktail" into  Google Trends for every day this year so far to see which of those drinks were most searched. Boom. There you have it... a "study" that shows how Iowans can be friggin' fancy!

Oh, by the way, National Cocktail Day is March 24th. Pinkies up, enjoy!

See if you can find any of these "white whale" alcoholic beverages in Iowa. Holler if you can.