Bourbon Blog Takes a Virtual Trip to Haines, Alaska

Watch Tom Fischer, top Bourbon expert and the founder of BourbonBlog.com, take a virtual trip to Haines, Alaska in this interview with Port Chilkoot Distillery founder and owner Heather Shade. From coastal brown bears to fresh Alaskan water, Heather touches base in this video on all the wild aspects that make Southeast Alaska (and our Alaskan spirits) so profound. Tom’s coverage on BourbonBlog.com is regarded as some of the most influential in the spirits industry with content that receives millions of views annually. We were enthusiastic about sitting down to taste and discuss our Boatwright Bourbon, Wrack Line Rye, and Green Siren Absinthe with him. Take a look!

Rose Bud

Rose Bud

Summer is such a colorful time here in Southeast
Alaska. Wild roses are blooming along all the roads, beaches, and trails, and even right behind our distillery! These pretty pink roses make a
beautiful syrup that we want to use for this week’s special. This week we’re going with a Collins style cocktail. A traditional Collins is served with gin, (specifically Old Tom Gin which is a bit sweeter than London Dry), simple syrup, lemon juice, and seltzer. However, we are varying it up and using our Icy Strait Vodka as our base spirit so that this
amazing rose syrup really shines though.

Recipe:

1.5 oz Icy Strait Vodka

.5 oz Rose Syrup

.75 oz Lemon Juice

Top with seltzer water

Combine Icy Strait Vodka, rose syrup, lemon juice. Stir and add ice. Top with seltzer water. Garnish with rose buds and lime wheels.

Rose Syrup Recipe:

Ingredients

3 cups Rose petals

2.25 cups Water

3 cups Sugar

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Using just the petals, add 3 cups of rose petals to 2.25 cups of water. Bring to a boil then simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for another hour. Strain your liquid. You may notice your water is more on the light yellowish brown side, this is where the lemon juice comes into play. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice and watch the liquid turn into a vibrant pink. You should be left with roughly 2 cups of rose water. Add that to a sauce pan and add sugar to your desired sweetness level. We did a 1:1 ½ ratio to get a bit on the sweeter side and to help preserve the syrup for a longer period of time.

Okinawa Old Fashioned

Okinawa Old Fashioned

“A few weeks ago I was listening to a chef talk about one of his visits to Japan. During this visit, he went to one particular place that really stood out to him where they did a cocktail tasting that featured seasonal offerings. One of the pairings was a whiskey cocktail with sweet potato. Hearing about it really inspired me to create a new recipe to highlight our Alaskan whiskey. After a few attempts, I came up with a sweet potato syrup that pairs beautifully with our Old School whiskey and thus, the Okinawa Old Fashioned was born.”

-Garrett, Port Chilkoot Distillery Tasting Room Manager

Recipe:

1.5 oz Old School Whiskey

.25 oz Sweet Potato Syrup

3 drops Spiced Pear Bitters

3 drops Chocolate Bitters

Combine ingredients in a glass and stir. Add ice, then garnish with a lemon and orange twist.

Sweet Potato Syrup Recipe:

2 cups Sweet Potato

2 cups Water

3/4 cup Sugar

¼ cup Brown Sugar

1 Cinnamon Stick

Freshly Grated Nutmeg

2 Cloves

Cut up roughly 2 cups of sweet potato into small cubes and add to 2 cups of water over medium heat. Add sugar and brown sugar and stir until dissolved, then add spices. Bring water to a boil and remove from heat. Let cool to room temperature. Remove cloves and cinnamon stick. Add mixture to a blender and puree. Strain through a fine mesh strainer. You should be left with a nice light orange syrup.

Gimlet

Gimlet

We have the open ocean and sailors to thank for this week’s special. Lime juice was once mixed with gin so sailors could get enough Vitamin C to aid in the prevention of scurvy. In the mid 1800’s, Lauchlan Rose created what we know today as Rose’s Lime Cordial, which preserved the lime juice for long voyages by mixing the fresh citrus juice with sugar. Early renditions of this drink were equal parts gin and lime cordial, but now as palates have changed and the drink is consumed for pleasure as opposed to a way to fight a disease, the recipe has been altered for a more dry, sophisticated taste.

Recipe:

.75 oz Lime Cordial

1.5 oz 50 Fathoms Gin

Add all ingredients and ice to a mixing tin. Shake
well and double strain into a martini or coupe style glass. Use your favorite style of lime for a garnish. We dehydrate lime wheels and float them on top.

Lime Cordial Recipe:

Peel or microplane the zest of the limes, avoiding as much of the white pith as possible, and save for later. Once all peels are removed, juice the limes. Measure out the lime juice and add equal parts sugar by weight to a large mason jar or other non-reactive container. Shake or stir well until all sugar is dissolved and then add the lime peels. Let the mixture sit for 12 – 24 hours and then strain. You will be left with a tart and slightly sweet syrup.

Brambling Spruce

Brambling Spruce

Recipe:

1 oz 50 Fathoms Gin

1oz House-made Blackberry Liqueur (Creme de Mure)

.5 oz Spruce Tip Syrup

.5 oz Lemon Juice

Add all ingredients to a mixing tin. Shake and strain into your rocks glass. Crushed ice is typically used in brambles. We use a Lewis
bag to crush our ice and then add it to the drink. Garnish with a blackberry and lemon twist

To make the spruce tip syrup:

2 cups of Water

1 cup of Sugar

.5 cup of Spruce Tips

Dissolve the sugar in water over medium heat. Add spruce tips and let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain through
fine mesh filter to remove all plant material.

To make blackberry liqueur:

Add 2 6 oz packages of blackberries to a 750ml bottle of Icy Strait Vodka. Let it infuse for 3 to 5 days, smashing the blackberries halfway through their infusion to release all of the flavor. Strain infusion through a fine mesh filter to remove all plant material and you’ll be left with a light purple vodka. Add 3 cups of simple syrup to your mixture and mix well to incorporate. You’ll be left with roughly 2 750ml bottles of Blackberry Liqueur!

Strawberry Fields Forever

Strawberry Fields Forever

This bright, flavorful cocktail is a sure sign of summer. We infused strawberries with our Icy Strait Vodka, which gave it a vibrant pink color and just the right amount strawberry flavor. We then simmered strawberries and basil together slowly to make the syrup. The basil is subtle, pairing perfectly with the strawberries to leave a nice mellow finish. The lemon twist adds an extra bouquet of aroma, making it the perfect cocktail for a sunny, summer day.

Recipe

1.5 oz Strawberry Infused Icy Strait Vodka

.75 oz Strawberry Basil Syrup

3 dashes Peychauds Bitters

3 dashes Orange Bitters

Add all ingredients to mixing tin and shake
well. Double strain into coupe class. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Strawberry infused Icy Strait Vodka:

Half of a package of strawberries will work perfect for a 750ml bottle of Icy Strait Vodka. Just cut the tops off and quarter, then add them and your vodka to a large vessel to infuse for 3 days. Strain into a nut milk bag and squeeze well to get all the last bits. We strain through yet another fine strainer to get it as clear as possible.

Strawberry Basil Syrup:

4 cups of water

2 cups of sugar

1 package of strawberries(quartered)

3 tbsp dried basil

Add water and sugar to sauce pan over medium heat and stir occasionally until sugar is dissolved. Add strawberries and basil and let simmer on medium heat for half an hour, and then remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Strain through nut milk bag and squeeze the juices out over a fine mesh filter to get the best clarity in your syrup.

Bottling Alaska: Day in the Life, Episode 1

We bottle it, we live it.  This is what a day at Port Chilkoot Distillery in Haines, Alaska looks like.

It starts with unbelievable views, and it ends with bottling some incredible Alaskan spirits.  Want a look into what happens in between?  Watch this!

Bottling Alaska: Get to Know the Locals, Episode 1

What’s a real Alaskan way to make a cocktail? Watch Captain Norm mix one up on his fishing boat!

Norm is a commercial fisherman here in Haines, Alaska, and is one of our local customers at the Distillery.  When he’s not pulling halibut out of the ocean, he’s collecting treasures that have washed up on shore.  If you visit our tasting room, you’ll even notice the Rockfish we have hanging above the bar, which he caught himself. We appreciate his enthusiasm and support for what we do.

Norm took this video on his boat out at Letnikof Cove.  If you look closely in some of the shots, you can see our local cannery in the background.

This is the first episode in our Bottling Alaska: Get to Know the Locals series. We’re excited to continue featuring our Haines locals and their enthusiasm for Port Chilkoot Distillery spirits. Stay tuned for more!

The Rossman

The Rossman

1.5 oz Wrack Line Rye

1 oz Rossman Mix

3 dashes Spruce Tip Bitters

Add ice and all ingredients to your glass. Stir well for 20 seconds. Put on your red and black flannet and enjoy!

Spruced Up Gin

Spruced Up Gin

Spruce tip season is almost here! We want to make sure you’re ready for it. Here’s the recipe for our favorite cocktail of the season.

Ingredients:

1 ½ oz 50 Fathoms Gin

¾ oz Spruce Tip Syrup

¼ oz Lemon Juice

Add ice and all ingredients to your glass. Stir for 20 seconds. Find a good spot to enjoy the spring sunshine and enjoy!

Sazerac

Sazerac

The Sazerac is similar to an Old Fashioned, though the addition of peychauds and the Absinthe rinse make it especially tasty.

Recipe:

Green Absinthe Rinsed glass

1 ½ oz Wrack Line Rye

Just short of ¼ oz Simple Syrup

3 dashes of Peychauds Bitters

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

In a mixing glass, fill with ice and add the Rye, simple syrup, and bitters. Stir for 20 seconds. Strain into a glass that has been rinsed with a splash of Green Siren Absinthe.

Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan

There are a number of claims made regarding the origin of the Cosmopolitan— from San Francisco and across the country, all the way to New York City. Gaining notoriety from the popular show Sex and the City, many think it’s the latter of the two. This drink is smooth, tart, and well balanced with the orange liqueur, keeping the sweetness subtle.

Recipe:

1 ½ oz Icy Strait Vodka

½ oz Orange Liqueur

½ oz Cranberry Juice

½ oz Simple Syrup

½ oz Lime Juice

Add all ingredients to a mixing tin. Shake and strain into your glass. Garnish with an orange, lime, or lemon twist. This drink is also great over ice, with a splash of soda water.