I’d like to dedicate this drink to Amaurluq Bamiovan/Rita Blumenstein, a Yup’ik doctor and healer who passed away in August of 2021. She is an inspiration to countless ethnobotanists, plant nerds, healers, and practitioners of traditional medicine. I don’t know if she would have liked this drink, but I like to think there are some health benefits from the elderflower and spruce tips. Quyana/gunalchéesh, Rita, for clearing the pathway to wellness and light. This drink reminds me of a margarita, but omit the tequila, add local plants, and you have an Alaskan Saint Rita. Omit the bitters for a completely alcohol-free drink. A note about the elderflower syrup: you can make your own. A LOT grows “out the road” in Juneau in the spring, or you can buy it bottled. I like the Monin brand, which you can buy online if you can’t bribe a coffee shop into selling you a bottle. I hate salting rims—it’s not a strong suit of mine—so I like to chill the glasses ahead of time to help the salt-sugar stick to the rim as opposed to first wetting it with citrus.