The Story Behind Ohio's Unexpected Official State Drink

The state of Ohio is home to several creative and exciting eateries. From a spooky horror-themed restaurant to a gas station chain where ice cream is the main attraction, you never know what you'll find. With such an eclectic food personality, it's only fitting that Ohio's official state drink is also an unusual pick: tomato juice.

Tomato juice isn't everyone's first choice, and considering that many states have named milk as their official state drink, Ohio's choice is definitely a standout one. However, the decision was made for good reason. The fruit is an important aspect of the state's agricultural industry, to the point that Ohio is one of the biggest tomato-producing states in the country. As such, Ohio declared tomato juice as the official state drink in 1965 during the annual Reynoldsburg Tomato Festival to commemorate the fruit's importance to the state.

This declaration made Ohio the first state to name an official state drink, setting a new precedent while honoring its unique agricultural history in one move. The state further emphasized its affiliations with tomato production decades later in 2009, when it declared tomatoes as the official state fruit. While not everyone is crazy about tomatoes or tomato juice, Ohio is definitely proud of its affection for them.

The choice to make tomato juice the official state drink dates back over a century, specifically to a man named Alexander W. Livingston. This Ohio resident is credited with the creation of the modern tomato in 1870 due to breeding and growing the sweetest, juiciest tomatoes that created the varieties we enjoy today. Up until that point, tomatoes were considered rather disgusting — to the point that some people actually thought they were poisonous. Livingston's tomato breeding efforts quite literally changed the game.

His efforts paid off quickly, as the agricultural industry surrounding these new tomato varieties grew. This eventually expanded into processing tomatoes into various products, including tomato juice. The once-disdained red fruit was now a major part of the farming industry in Ohio, all thanks to one man's efforts.

Livingston's contributions to tomato farming in Ohio were honored by the creation of the Reynoldsburg Tomato Festival, which is held in his hometown every year. The festival celebrates not just his efforts in breeding tomatoes but also the local farming community, the tomato's contributions to the state economy, and various tomato-themed foods. This is the same festival in which the Ohio state government made its love of all things tomatoes official, crowning tomato juice as the official state drink. Today, Livingston's efforts are more than paying off, with Ohio producing roughly 95,000 tons of tomatoes each year, consistently putting the state in the top five in the U.S. for tomato production.