Alaska Cocktail

Alaska Cocktail Story

The Alaska, first appearing in the 1914 publication Drinks by Jacques Straub, is an austere cocktail that flew mainly under the radar with bar patrons. It remained popular enough among bartenders and cocktail recipe collectors, however, to warrant multiple recipe recordings over several decades. From Harry Craddock’s 1930’s Savoy Cocktail Book through Gary Regan’s 2003 tome, The Joy of Mixology, the Alaska follows a deceivingly simple recipe. Comprised of gin, yellow Chartreuse, and orange bitters, the Alaska requires a truly adept bartender to perform the delicate balancing act of mixing an assertive gin with the honeyed, botanical notes of the French liqueur. Curiously, the Alaska has always called for dry gin though it was born of the pre-Prohibition era when old tom gin ruled.