Purgatory is the newest flavor from the Alaska Distillery, the Wasilla-based company which made a mark two years ago with the introduction of its smoked salmon-flavored vodka.

“We have a mad scientist who kind of runs the joint here, and he seems to have brilliant ideas,” said Bella Coley, the distillery’s chief operating officer.

“To compete in the alcohol industry these days, you have to be innovative and you have to bring in new products and you have to be imaginative,” said Toby Foster, the company’s chief executive officer and said mad scientist. “This product right here lends itself to all three things.”

The company says it’s the first to use hemp seed to produce vodka in the United States. Coley says distillers in Canada and Poland don’t distill with hemp seeds, and only add them into the bottles.

“We wanted to be the first and the pioneers to do something with hemp seed, a real honest and earnest hemp seed vodka,”