What Are Americans Drinking On “Solo de Mayo”?

The quarantine has forced America to cancel its Cinco de Mayo parties, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be celebrating at home. Here’s what people in every state are most likely drinking on the fifth of May this year, according to Ranker data.

Cinco de Mayo commemorates the anniversary of Mexico’s 1862 victory at the Battle of Puebla over the French Empire. In Mexico, it’s largely celebrated through military parades and reenactments of the original Battle of Cinco de Mayo. But in the US, people with and without Mexican ancestry more commonly celebrate it with parties, barbecues, and lots and lots of drinking.

With most states still enforcing shelter-in-place laws thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, big gatherings are out of the question. Drinking is one way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo without breaking quarantine, and judging from Ranker’s data, people have been “celebrating” since the outbreak began.

This chart tracks visits to pages on Ranker that are related to alcohol, whether it’s liquor, beer, or wine. Lists covering highest highs and lowest lows of getting drunk saw considerable spikes in traffic in early March, when quarantine measures were being considered or, in some places, put in place. Traffic has continued to trend upward from late March, peaking again a month later on the April 21. Given that past years have seen more alcohol sales on Cinco de Mayo than both St. Patrick’s Day and the Super Bowl, there’s no reason to expect this trend won’t continue in the week leading up to the fifth of May.

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, we looked across the dozens of Ranker lists about all things alcohol to see what Americans love to drink most — and therefore, what people are most likely to be splurging on as they prepare to celebrate Cinco de Mayo at home. Here’s everything we know about the spirits and beer that people love.

Beer

Beer is tremendously popular in the US, so it makes sense that people tend to be opinionated about it. What’s America’s favorite beer? It depends on a huge number of factors, from country of origin, to type of beer, to price range. For instance, Pabst Blue Ribbon is all the down at #64 on our list of Best Beers from Around the World, but when it comes to beers that are cheap and easy to find, it’s the #1 pick.

A look at the top choice for voters across all our beer-related lists shows just how varied our tastes are when it comes to brew.

Best Domestic Beer: Yuengling Traditional Amber
Best Beer from Around the World: Stella Artois
Best Type of Beer: German Pilsner
Best Beer Brand: Corona
Best Cheap Beer: Pabst Blue Ribbon
Best Beer to Chug: Coors Light
Best Mexican Beer: Modelo Especial
Best Craft Beer: Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA
Best India Pale Ale: Ballast Point Sculpin IPA
Best Stout: Guinness
Best Alcohol-Free Beer: Beck’s Non-Alcoholic
Best Canned Beer: Heady Topper
Best Light Beer: Miller Lite
Best Low-Alcohol Beer: Sam Adams Light

To get a clear impression of what types of beer are beloved most across the country, let’s take a closer look at a general list with tons of votes: Best Beers from Around the World. Here’s what we learned about Americans’ beer tastes using the 200,000 votes from nearly 17,000 voters on this list:

Stella Artois may be the #1 beer among all voters, but it’s in a close race with Guinness, the famous Irish stout. Guinness is the favorite beer among voters in 14 states, including Arizona, California, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and New York. It’s also the top choice for both women and people older than 50.
Blue Moon, while #17 on the list overall, is surprisingly popular in the South. It’s the #4 beer in the region as a whole, and holds the #1 spot in Alabama, North Carolina, and West Virginia. Those who vote up Blue Moon are more likely to also vote up Coors Light.
Only a few states have favorite beers that are IPAs: Alaska (Stone IPA), Minnesota (Bass Pale Ale), and Maryland and Ohio (both love Sierra Nevada).
Texas is the only state whose #1 favorite beer was brewed in Mexico: Dos Equis. Tennessee comes close, with Dos Equis at #2 and Corona at #4.
Men are big fans of Belgian beer. Every one of their Top 9 choices is brewed in Belgium, including Stella Artois, Delirium Tremens, Chimay Blue, and Rochefort 10.
Heineken is the #10 choice among beer drinkers younger than 30, at least 10 spots higher than it is for any other age group. Those who vote up Heineken are more likely to also vote up Bud Light.
Those who like Stella Artois are more likely to also vote up Corona, while those who prefer Guinness tend to vote up Newcastle Brown Ale.
Fans of Foster’s are more likely to also vote up the Australian lager’s Japanese counterpart, Sapporo.

Liquor

There’s plenty of debate to be had about what kinds of alcohol are best, but few will debate the timeless maxim that “liquor is quicker.” So whether you’re looking to slowly sip your favorite spirits, mix an amazing cocktail, or simply chug whatever is most likely to get you hammered on Cinco de Mayo, here’s what our Ranker lists say about the #1 choices across all manner of liquor-related lists:

Best Alcohol Brand: Jack Daniels
Best Tasting Liquor: Rum
Best Cocktail: Margarita
Best Tasting Whiskey: Woodford Reserve
Best American Whiskey: Jack Daniels
Best Cheap Whiskey: Maker’s Mark
Best Affordable Alcohol: Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum
Best Brandy Brand: Rémy Martin
Best Gin Brand: Hendricks
Best Rum Brand: Captain Morgan
Best Tequila Brand: Don Julio
Best Vodka Brand: Belvedere
Best Sake Brand: Ryozeki
Best Mezcal Brand: El Tinieblo Joven

The most general lists linked above, Best Alcohol Brands, Best Tasting Liquors, and Best Cocktails Ever Mixed, have a combined total of almost 63,000 votes. The data we have on all these lists can tell us more about the specifics of Americans’ tastes in spirits.

Even though rum is at the top of our list of best tasting liquors, Americans tend to prefer whiskey brands. People in every region of the US choose a whiskey maker as their favorite alcohol brand, except for the Mountain region, which prefers Guinness.
Our data says that your taste in spirits depends heavily on your age. Those from 21 to 30 love Patron more than any other liquor brand; those from 31 to 50 love Knob Creek most of all; and people older than 50 pick Guinness as their top choice.
Those who live in blue states (states that tend to vote Democratic) prefer Maker’s Mark, while red states (states that typically vote Republican) like Jack Daniel’s.
Voters who picked Jack Daniel’s as the top alcohol brand are more likely to vote up Grey Goose as the Best Vodka Brand. On the other hand, those who vote up Smirnoff on the alcohol brand list tend to vote up Johnnie Walker: Black Label on our list of Best Tasting Whiskeys.
Those who love Knob Creek tend to name Woodford Reserve, Bulleit, and Elijah Craig as their other favorite bourbons.
Appropriately for Cinco de Mayo, the margarita is the favorite cocktail across both genders and all age groups, but results tend to vary according to location. Those in Alabama prefer a rum and Coke; Hawaiians drink Dark and Stormys; Indiana voters love a martini; and Louisianans are partial to the Sazerac, a New Orleans classic.
Red state voters pick Long Island iced teas over margaritas — that makes sense, given that Long Island is a conservative enclave inside New York, a solidly blue state.
The Manhattan may be the #1 cocktail among Oklahomans, but funnily enough, it’s down at #12 for New Yorkers. New Yorkers don’t put the Long Island iced tea at the top of their list either — that spot is reserved for the kamikaze.
Those who vote up the margarita are also more likely to pick cheesecake on our list of the Most Delicious Foods in the World.