The Svenson

Named after John and Sharon Svenson, this quirky twist on a whiskey sour is a favorite of both locals and new visitors!

The Svenson

1.5 oz Boatwright Bourbon

.5 oz Spruce tip syrup

.25 oz Fresh lemon juice

3 dashes Angostura bitters

Shake and strain over ice. Garnish with a lemon twist and enjoy!

*For a little extra spice, try this with our Wrackline Rye*

Spruce Tip Syrup:

1/2 Cup spruce tips

300 mL Sugar

600 mL Water

Bring sugar, water and spruce tips to a boil in a saucepan and turn off. Bottle when cool.

Whiskey Sour

Try this simple and tasty recipe for a classic cocktail at home!

1.5 oz Boatwright Bourbon or Wrackline Rye

.75 oz Fresh lemon juice

.5 oz Simple syrup

Shake until frosty, strain over ice into a rocks glass. Garnish with a dark cherry and enjoy!

Heart-beet

Beets. Earthy, rich, lightly sweet, and a gorgeous deep red. In our humble opinion, these tasty root vegetables are more than just a side dish. They're full of potassium, manganese, and pair spectacularly with gin. What more could you want from a cocktail ingredient? 

A few things you need to know about dealing with beets, if you haven't had the pleasure already. Well, actually, just one. They will turn everything pink. Wear gloves if you want to keep your hands human colored, and an apron if you value your clothing. 

Give them a good scrub with a vegetable brush, then peel and chop into one inch pieces. We added frozen raspberries to ours, but you can use blueberries or strawberries as well. The berries add just the right amount of sweet to keep the beets from being an overpowering flavor. 

Beet-Raspberry Puree

2 Cups peeled and chopped beets

2 Cups raspberries, fresh or frozen

1/4-1/2 Cup water

Combine in a food processor and blend until smooth. 

Heartbeet

1.5 oz 50 Fathoms Gin

.5 oz Lemon Juice

.5 oz Honey Syrup

1 Tbsp Beet-Raspberry Puree

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

An Update and a Thank You

As some of you know, the laws that allows distillery tasting rooms in the state of Alaska are in the process of being reinterpreted, and not in our favor. For the full story, go here. The most recent part of the process was a public comment period where people were able to submit letters and thoughts either for or against the proposed changes. 

The public comment period closed December 29th, and we were overjoyed with the outpouring of support from everyone who took the time to send in a few words on our behalf and on behalf of the other distilleries affected. We go into this next part of the process with a feeling of hope knowing that so many people love what we do and want it to continue. We wouldn't be here without all of you! 

What's next? 

There will be a meeting of the ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) Board in Juneau on Tuesday January 23rd. We will have more information afterwards, and will post updates as soon as possible. 

What Can You Do?

Come have a drink or buy a bottle! The tasting room is still serving our regular menu items, open 4pm-8pm Wednesday - Saturday. 

Forest Gimlet

The holidays are over, and most of us are finally coming out of some fabulous food and drink comas. Looking at you, egg nog. 

January is a time for fresh starts and newly made resolutions. For Alaskans, this also means crazy cold spells and winter days that get longer and longer, creeping ever so slowly towards spring.

The Forest Gimlet was inspired by just such days. The kind of day that is breathtakingly gorgeous, refreshing, and icy cold. Rosemary infused vodka adds a hint of warmth to this twist on a classic cocktail.

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Making an infused vodka is quite simple. All you'll need is a great vodka, like our Icy Strait Vodka, a large jar, and whatever you want to put in it.  

Rosemary is a ridiculously versatile herb with a flavor that can be a subtle hint at the finish of a drink, or a fresh slap to the face at the start, similar to the north wind we've had lately. It goes well with citrus, and makes a great twist on classic vodka cocktails. 

Rosemary Infused Vodka

750 mL Icy Strait Vodka

2-3 full sprigs fresh rosemary (I used pieces about 6" long)

Combine vodka and rosemary in a large jar, and leave somewhere dark for 2 or 3 days. Check it after the second day, if you want the flavor to be stronger, leave it to infuse for another day.

Forest Gimlet

1.5 oz Rosemary Infused Icy Strait Vodka

.75 oz Lemon Juice

.25 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled rocks glass. Garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary.

Port Chilkoot Yule Nog

Festive drinks are an important part of a great holiday party, and nothing is more iconic than a glass of egg nog. Our nog recipe is boozy, simple, and ridiculously tasty.

What you'll need:

Blender

Boatwright Bourbon

3 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

Nutmeg

Blend sugar, eggs, milk, and cream until fluffy, then add whiskey to taste and blend again. We recommend about 1 1/2 cups for this recipe. Pour into the drinking vessels of your choice and spoon a little of the fluff from the top of the blended mixture into each glass. Sprinkle with nutmeg and enjoy!

Spruce Gin Old Fashioned

In a mixing tin, stir together

• 2 spruce tips

• Lemon wedge

• Grapefruit bitters

Add

• 2 oz. 50 Fathoms Gin

• ¾ oz. spruce tip-infused simple syrup

• Ice

Stir and strain over ice-filled rocks glass. 

Garnish with a spruce tip.

Moscow Moose

2 oz. Icy Strait Vodka

1 oz.  ginger beer or ginger ale

1 lemon wedge

1 lime wedge

Splash of soda water

Stir ingredients together and strain in to a tin camping mug filled with crushed ice. Garnish with lime wheel and sprig of mint.

What's better than a Gold Medal? A Double Gold Medal!

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50 Fathoms Gin wins Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

The San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the largest, most influential international spirits competition in America, is judged by a prestigious panel of nationally recognized spirits experts. Judging is based on a blind, consensual procedure, ensuring competitive integrity as it remains the nation’s most respected spirits competition.  Celebrating its 15th year in 2015, the Competition was held in San Francisco from March 19th through the 22nd.

First Batches of Rye Whiskey

That's right: we're now making a Rye Whiskey and the first batch just went into the barrels. This Mash Bill 70% Rye and we think it will come out with a nice spicy, yet balanced flavor. Now we'll let the barrels do the work for a while, while we cook up another batch!

50 Fathoms Gin wins Gold Medal

We are proud to announce that our 50 Fathoms Gin won the Gold Medal in the American Craft Spirits Awards (ACSA) this past weekend in Austin, Texas.  The ACSA is the largest gathering of licensed craft spirits producers in the United States.

This is a very rigorous, blind-taste judging of craft spirits from all over the country.  Apparently the judges like our gin as much as we do!

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Heather and Sean with their gold medal for 50 Fathoms Gin.

Hot Apple Ginger Toddy

We’re celebrating our first day of snow in Haines this winter! If you’re in town, stop by the Tasting Room for a steaming mug of Hot Apple Ginger Toddy.

Here’s the recipe to make at home:

• 1 1/2 oz. 12 Volts Moonshine

• 3 oz. Hot apple ginger cider*

• Add honey to taste

• Garnish with a dried apple slice or cinnamon stick.

*To make Hot apple ginger cider, simmer apple cider with freshly grated ginger, cinnamon sticks, and cloves to taste.