GETTING TO KNOW THE HUCKLEBERRY

Early American colonists misidentified it as a European blueberry called a Hurtleberry.
Over time that morphed into, you guessed it, the Huckleberry!

Huckleberries are a close relative to the blueberry and there are four different species in North America, as well as a few different colors. This delicious berry is mostly found in Idaho, Montana, Central California, and Oregon. They grow in various habitats including mid-alpine areas, forests, and lake basins. Huckleberries tend to ripen in the mid-to-late summer or a bit later in higher elevations. The berries are small and round, 5 to 10 millimeters in diameter, and look like big dark blueberries.

In taste, they’re usually tart with a flavor similar to that of a blueberry, especially in blue and purple colored varieties. Some have noticeably larger bitter seeds. The fruit is versatile in various foods and beverages, including jam, pudding, candy, pie, ice cream, muffins, pancakes, juices, tea, syrups, and thankfully, vodka. Bears don’t eat a lot of pancakes or drink much vodka but bears, birds, coyotes, and deer love the fruit of the huckleberry.

If you’ve ever heard the expression, “I’m your huckleberry” then you’re not alone. Val Kilmer made the line famous playing Doc Holliday in the movie Tombstone. What a lot of people wouldn’t guess is the real Holliday actually said that line in real life.

“I’m your huckleberry” is a way of saying that you are just the right person for the job. One theory is that this expression came to be because when a knight rescued a damsel in distress he’d receive a garland made of huckleberry bush. He would then ride into battle with it draped over his lance.

Ok, we’ve learned a lot about the huckleberry. We know where it grows, how it tastes, and we even got a bit of movie trivia. I’d like to focus next on the fun part. The vodka part! Remember learning about huckleberries growing best in Idaho? Blue Ice vodka is a potato vodka made in Idaho. Idaho is the potato capital of the U.S. and huckleberries are the Idaho state fruit. This is starting to make way too much sense.

Blue Ice Huckleberry vodka is made with 100% all natural flavors. It’s made with non-GMO potatoes, is gluten free, has no sugar added, and is completely carb free.

The Mountain Huckleberries Blue Ice uses are considered “Purple Gold” because attempts to cultivate huckleberry plants from seeds have failed and the results don’t bear fruit. These [only] wild growing berries are coveted and the flavor blends perfectly with this 57 calorie an once fit friendly vodka.

Blue Ice Huckleberry can be found all throughout California. It’s incredibly versatile and mixes great with any sparkling water, ginger beer, or my favorite, lemonade! It’s easy to experiment with like using it in an Arnold Palmer or using it in a martini with lemon or basil. Have fun with it.

Now you know way more than you thought you ever would about huckleberries. It’s time to celebrate your new found knowledge with a Blue Ice Huckleberry cocktail. You’ve earned it. Cheers!

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