Long heralded as Maryland’s unofficial state drink, the legendary Orange Crush can finally lay claim to the title in an official sense.
On Monday, April 7, Maryland lawmakers voted to make the Orange Crush — a mix of vodka, triple sec, orange juice and lemon-lime soda — the official cocktail of the state, 30 years after it was invented at the Harborside Bar & Grill in Ocean City.
Fittingly, it was Delegate Wayne Hartman of district 38C, which consists of Wicomico and Worcester counties, who proposed the measure. That district includes Ocean City. It passed during the final vote of the night, and the session.
Maryland, particularly the Eastern Shore, has been involved in a humorous public disagreement with its neighbor Delaware over the rights to the drink. While nobody doubts that it was invented in Maryland, then-Delaware Governor John Carney said last summer that the drink was “perfected” in Dewey Beach. In August 2024, Delaware gave the Orange Crush the same designation that Maryland did this year, making it the official state drink less than a year before the Old Line State did.
In 2024, United States Senators Ben Cardin of Maryland and Chris Coons of Delaware faced off in jest with a contest to determine once and for all who owns the rights to the Orange Crush. The two each made a drink in the Capitol building, with judges consisting of another representative from each state plus two Washington, D.C., food reporters. Cardin came out on top, and Maryland earned the bragging rights.
The designation will take effect on June 1.
