April 20, 1967 - Orange juice becomes official state beverage
Photo: State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory
Perhaps someone could have made a case for beer, but really, if Florida is going to have an official state beverage, what else would it be but orange juice? In 1967, the Legislature declared "the juice obtained from mature oranges of the species Citrus sinensis and hybrids is hereby adopted as the official beverage of the State of Florida." Florida is one of 28 states with official beverages. Milk is the official beverage of 21 of them. Ohio chose tomato juice. Massachusetts chose cranberry juice, and Alabama has only a state spirit: Conecuh Ridge Whiskey.
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Thirty-five states have official fruits, but the orange didn't become Florida's official fruit until 2005, after an elementary school class lobbied then-Gov. Jeb Bush to make it so. Bush said he was "completely surprised" Florida didn't already have a state fruit. Visit the official Facebook page of Florida Orange Juice
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Photo: State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory
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