Alaska
Gin, yellow Chartreuse and orange bitters, stirred. A 1914 drink that the Savoy noted was not, so far as anyone knew, the staple diet of the Eskimos — and one of the best three-ingredient stirred drinks there is.
Built to the standard modern spec; not yet tested in our kitchen. How we test.
The recipe.
Scaling adjusts quantities only. Prepare shaken drinks in individual portions.
Let’s make a good drink.
Chill a coupe.
Add the gin, yellow Chartreuse and orange bitters to a mixing glass.
Fill with ice and stir for 25 to 30 seconds.
Strain into the chilled coupe, express a lemon twist over the top and drop it in.
A thoughtful finish
- Three to one gin to Chartreuse is the modern balance; the 1914 recipe was closer to two to one and is sweeter. Both are correct.
- Yellow Chartreuse, not green. Green makes a different and much more aggressive drink.
- Orange bitters are the only bitters that belong here; Angostura muddies it.
Common mistakes
- Green Chartreuse by habit.
- Shaking; it is a clear, stirred drink.
- Skipping the lemon twist, whose oil ties the honeyed liqueur to the gin.
A few good questions.
What does an Alaska taste like?
A dry gin Martini with honey, saffron and herbs in place of the vermouth — strong, smooth, faintly sweet and aromatic.
Why is it called Alaska?
Nobody knows. It appears in 1914 with the name already attached; the gold rush and the territory's exotic reputation are the usual guesses.
Old Tom or London dry?
The Savoy specifies Old Tom, which gives a rounder, sweeter drink. A London dry makes a crisper one that most modern bars prefer.
What is a Bijou?
Gin, sweet vermouth and green Chartreuse — the Alaska's richer, greener cousin from the 1890s.
Variations
- Bijou — Gin, sweet vermouth and green Chartreuse.
- Martini — Gin and dry vermouth.
- Last Word — Gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino and lime.
- Greenpoint — Rye, yellow Chartreuse and sweet vermouth.
Where it comes from
1914 · United States
The Alaska first appears in Jacques Straub’s Drinks of 1914 as gin and yellow Chartreuse with orange bitters, and Harry Craddock printed it in the Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930 with the note that ‘so far as can be ascertained, this delectable potion is NOT the staple diet of the Esquimaux.’ The name is probably from the gold rush or the territory’s novelty; nobody has traced it. It belongs to the small family of gin-and-herbal-liqueur stirred drinks — the Bijou, the Puritan — and it was revived with the Chartreuse boom of the 2000s. The Savoy’s version with Old Tom gin is softer; this is the dry one.
Sources
- Jacques Straub, Drinks, 1914 (book)
- Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930 (book)
- Ted Haigh, Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, 2009 (book)
Strength. About 2.19 US standard drinks at an estimated 35.8% ABV, estimated from the ingredients and technique, not measured. What that means.
A little character in every sip.
A keeper?
Save this drink for your next cocktail hour.
Saved in this browser.The next great drink
might already be on your shelf.
Choose your bottles and mixers. Discover what you can make.