Alaska (Savoy recipe)
Stir ∙ 3 min ∙ 34.7% ABV ∙
The Alaska is a stirred spirit-forward cocktail of London dry gin and an herbal liqueur such as yellow Chartreuse, served up with an orange twist.
Ingredients
1
Servings
Garnish
Instructions for 1 serving
- Pre-chill a glass
- Stir all ingredients with ice: London dry gin 45 mlHerbal liqueur (e.g., Yellow Chartreuse) 15 ml
- Fine strain into the chilled glass
- Express an orange twist over the cocktail and use as garnish
Tips
- Stir over cracked ice for about 30 seconds; with nothing but gin and Chartreuse in the glass, that water is what tames the liqueur's sweetness.
- Keep the Yellow Chartreuse to 15 ml against 45 ml of gin; any more and it drowns the juniper.
History
The Alaska (Savoy recipe) follows the version Harry Craddock printed in The Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930, which standardized the gin-based formula as a dry martini with yellow Chartreuse standing in for vermouth. It is the variation now best known: it lightens the Chartreuse and drops the dash of orange bitters called for in the earlier Straub version, giving a drier, more gin-forward drink.
The Alaska is a pre-Prohibition American cocktail first documented by Jacques Straub, in a book sources date to 1913 or 1914. Other early sources sometimes listed an unrelated rye-and-Bénédictine mixture under the same name, so the drink's early identity was not fixed.
FAQ
What are the ingredients in an Alaska cocktail?
London dry gin and an herbal liqueur such as yellow Chartreuse, 45 ml and 15 ml, with no juice or syrup.
Is an Alaska cocktail shaken or stirred?
Stirred. Both ingredients are spirits with no citrus or egg to aerate, so stirring chills and dilutes the drink while keeping it clear and silky.
What glass is an Alaska cocktail served in?
A coupe glass, served up with no ice, finished with an orange twist expressed over the surface.
What are some variations of the Alaska cocktail?
Most variations change the ratio or the herbal liqueur. Some move closer to equal parts gin and liqueur, which gives a sweeter drink with less gin character.
