Enjoyed: Wednesday, June 15, 2022.

Listed on the menu: No, but other cocktails with “Alaska whiskey” were, so I requested an Old Fashioned specifically containing made-in-Alaska whiskey.

Ingredients:  Anchorage Distillery Whiskey (made from glacier fresh water and Alaskan grain), sugar (dissolved in the whiskey, said the bartender), angostura bitters, orange bitters, orange slice and cherry for garnish.

The occasion: We left Anchorage early in the morning on the Alaska Railroad, bound for Denali National Park. We splurged on the Gold Star (i.e. first class) service, so we sat at the very front and top of a two-level train car, with windows above and around us. Wow, just wow. Alaska is beautiful–forests of spruce, craggy mountains, rapidly flowing rivers, and meadows with bright green grass and late spring flowers. We were served cocktails and two lovely meals in the dining area on the car’s lower level–with real silverware, plates, and cloth napkins, even. As we neared Talkeetna on this sunny day, we were able to see Denali, the tallest mountain in North America! She loomed like a white cloud over the horizon, and she made us gasp with delight, especially since she is visible only 20-30 percent of the time. After about eight hours, the train entered Denali National Park, and the scenery grew even more dramatic. Once we arrived at the station, a bus whisked us to our hotel on the side of a mountain.

My rating: **** out of 5. I was hoping for more unique flavors (birch syrup, perhaps?), but the whiskey was satisfactory, with some creamy vanilla to start and a bit of pepper to finish.

Final thoughts: Needless to say, the views from the bar and restaurant were unforgettable (you can faintly see the mountains and river bed in my photo above). We enjoyed sockeye salmon and snow crab cakes for supper, then wandered outdoors to enjoy the patio and even more unobstructed views of the Nenana River and Denali National Park just beyond. So gorgeous! Although it was 9:30 PM when we finished our meal, the sun was still shining brightly. I checked my weather app–sunset in the park was at 12:18 AM, and sunrise at 3:51 AM. I suspect we could have stayed on the patio for hours, if it weren’t for our need for sleep and for the largest, most voracious mosquitoes we have ever encountered.