Living in Alaska provides access to incredible natural beauty and outdoor adventures. We pay homage to the unique place we call home daily at our Haines distillery, creating   Port Chilkoot spirits and cocktails with a distinct sense of place. When the season is right, we head into the wild to forage ingredients that can only be found here. Here are two of our favorite syrup and cocktail recipes featuring delicious things gathered from the Last Frontier! 

Highbush Cranberries 

In Autumn, you will find Highbush Cranberries growing all over Alaska. These sour, bright red berries are not true cranberries, but bear a strong resemblance. They pack a tart, juicy flavor and are rich in Vitamin C. While a bit acidic raw, they cook down beautifully for a versatile and bright red syrup. 

Highbush Cranberry Syrup

  1. After you’ve collected your berries, sift through to remove the stems and other debris.

  2. Rinse berries and add them to a steam juicer.

  3. Steam the berries for 2 hours. 

  4. Squeeze the berries to extract any remaining juice. This will reduce the clarity, but will yield more juice for the syrup.

  5. Strain and weigh the juice.

  6. Add 1.5x the amount of sugar to the juice and stir over medium heat until the sugar is fully dissolved.

  7. Allow to cool and transfer to containers for storage. Syrup will keep in refrigerator for one month.

Once you’ve made your Highbush Cranberry Syrup, try it out in one of our favorite cocktails! The Highbush Gimlet is a top selling drink at our Tasting Room in Haines. A riff on the 90’s classic Cosmopolitan, we put an Alaskan spin on the drink. 

The Highbush Gimlet

1.5 oz 50 Fathoms Gin

.75 oz Cranberry Juice

.5 oz Highbush Cranberry Syrup

.25 oz Lime Juice

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. 

Shake and double strain into a martini glass. 

Garnish with a lime twist. 

Enjoy! 

Spruce Tips

In the Alaskan spring, electric green new growth appears on every spruce tree. These fresh buds can be eaten right off the branch and have a citrusy and floral flavor. We have a short window to harvest spruce tips —  they are only available for about three weeks in early May. During that time we harvest several gallons that we use year round for garnishes, in our 50 Fathoms Gin, and for our delicious Spruce Tip Syrup! 

Spruce Tip Syrup 

1 cup Spruce Tips

2 cups Sugar

4 cups Water  

  1. Add all ingredients to a sauce pan over medium heat.

  2. Stir occasionally until sugar is dissolved. 

  3. Bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.

  4. Remove from heat and allow syrup to cool. 

  5. Strain and bottle. Syrup will keep in refrigerator for one month. 

Once you’ve made your Spruce Tip Syrup, shake up a local favorite from our Tasting Room! The Svenson is a whiskey sour variation enhanced with the flavor of spruce tips.

The Svenson

1.5 oz Boatwright Bourbon

.5 oz Spruce Tip Syrup

.25 oz Lemon Juice

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker.

Shake and strain into a rocks glass over ice.

Garnish with a half lemon wheel and spruce tip.