Aviation Cocktail Recipe

3 mins
Prep: 3 mins,
Cook: 0 mins
Yield: 1 serving

The Aviation Cocktail is one of those cocktails with a long and rocky past, though it is a fantastic classic cocktail that is always worth revisiting when the opportunity arises.

This mix is simple and in true old-fashioned style it requires just a few ingredients. The problem is that the key to getting the stunning blue color is a rather elusive liqueur. Often overlooked and rarely stocked, the creme de violette was revived with a 2007 release by Rothman and Winter.

This liqueur may make the Aviation what it really was meant to be, though even during the four decades of its absence the cocktail was still being made without it. Interestingly, some connoisseurs have reverted to the maraschino-only recipe because they believe the modern creme de violette is not what it should be.

The debate over how to properly make an Aviation will likely continue for years on end. Personally, I believe that the creme de violette is what makes this cocktail special and since we now have the ability to taste the drink in its almost original form, we may as well enjoy it.

If you choose to skip the signature creme de violette, do be careful about the cocktail's balance. Without this seemingly insignificant ingredient, the Aviation can quickly become too sour.

What You'll Need

2 ounces gin
1/4 ounce maraschino liqueur
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/4 ounce creme de violette
Flamed lemon peel for garnish

How to Make It

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
Shake well.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with a flamed lemon peel.

A Brief History of the Aviation Cocktail

We really do not know who first created the Aviation Cocktail. According to David Wondrich's "Imbibe!", it was first printed in a 1916 book by Hugo Ensslin called "Recipes for Mixed Drinks". It has always been difficult to gauge how popular the cocktail was at the time and because the two key liqueurs were likely just as rare as they are today, it is assumed that this was a specialty drink served at only the most elite bars.

It was sometime in the 1930's that the creme de violette was dropped from the Aviation and the maraschino took over the drink. This can be noted in Harry Craddock's popular "Savoy Cocktail Book", which has been an influence on bartending guides since its first publication in 1930.

Few cocktails beyond the Aviation have called for creme de violette and by the 1960's it had disappeared from the U.S. market. This sent the Aviation even further into obscurity until our most recent cocktail renaissance and the re-release of the floral liqueur.

Today you will find the Aviation on lists of classics cocktails that should be experienced, though it still should not be expected that it can be ordered at any bar. Despite being available again, creme de violette is not part of the average bar's inventory, though there are some that are trying to revive the Aviation and will create a fantastic version for you to taste.

Cold Glass

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Aviation Cocktail

The history of the Aviation Cocktail is a tale of neglect and abuse, rehabilitation and redemption, and even controversy. Sort of like Cinderella with politics. I love these cocktails with stories.

The Aviation has been around at least since 1911, according to David Wondrich’s Imbibe! It has been flying well under the radar ever since. Or at least ever since there was radar.

Its obscurity seems a combination of bad luck and an uncommon-ingredients recipe. Hugo Ensslin first published the formula for the Aviation in his 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks , combining two parts gin, one part lemon juice, and two dashes each of maraschino and crème de violette liqueurs. I haven’t been able to determine if both liqueurs would have been commonly stocked in bars, either pre- or post-Prohibition; it seems unlikely they would be in the average home bartender’s standard inventory, since there are relatively few applications for them. As wildly popular as aviation, the sport, seems to have been, there is no indication that Aviation, the cocktail, was the fashionable drink of its day.

The bad luck part came along in 1930, when the widely referenced Savoy Cocktail Book dropped the crème de violette from the drink’s recipe. The Aviation Cocktail was transformed in that typo-driven instant into a strongly sour drink, with an aggressive dollop of lemon juice and the assertive maraschino liqueur. The charming blue hue that suggested its name was gone. A very tough sell, it was doomed to languish, as bar books ever since have provided iterations of the violette-free Aviation, each one struggling with the sweet-sour balance and the robust nature of maraschino. Crème de violette, its use increasingly arcane, finally disappeared from the United States in the 1960s.

The Aviation Cocktail

The poor, benighted Aviation was released from cocktail trivia prison in 2007 when the very floral Rothman and Winter crème de violette reappeared in the US market, and the renewed possibility of making the Aviation along the lines of the original Ensslin recipe caught the fancy of the growing body of history-minded cocktailians. In short order, the blogosphere elevated the Aviation to fashionable prominence.

And controversy. There is a school of thought that says that if crème de violette is available, the drink certainly should be made with crème de violette. There is another faction that declares the currently available crème de V “not good enough,” and they’ll stick with the well-published, long standard violette-free version, thank you very much.

Thus, the arrival of crème de violette has made the Aviation the centerpiece of a robust, larger conversation about whether cocktail recipes, especially the first publication recipes, should be considered law, or merely guidelines; and to what extent it’s reasonable to change proportions, to add, subtract, or substitute ingredients, or even change the size of the pour, before the drink takes on such a different character that it becomes a different product altogether. Can a cocktail properly evolve beyond its original definition? Or, as it loses its fidelity to the “original,” must it be considered an entirely different cocktail, signified at the very least by a different name?

I’m not ready to support either side in this controversy. As for how much you can change a cocktail before it loses its identity, I’m afraid I’m in the same position where Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously found himself when considering a completely different topic—I can’t describe when it’s gone too far, but I know it when I see it.

So I’ll stick to the very narrow position that there seems little point in making an Aviation without crème de violette. Without it, the drink is (a) not charmingly blue; and (b) not deliciously, memorably tasty.

The violette adds to the nose, and brings additional sweetness and a depth of flavor to the drink. I do believe that a healthy proportion of lemon helps the drink, and experimentation has brought me around to the idea that it should be small, very cold, and emphatically sour. Not 2:1 sour, but noticably and bracingly sour. So here is the Cold Glass Aviation:

2 oz London Dry gin (Plymouth or Bombay Dry)
½–¾ oz fresh lemon juice
¼ oz maraschino liqueur (Luxardo)
¼ oz crème de violette (Rothman & Winter)

Shake with ice, strain into a well-chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with brandied cherry.

The ¾-ounce portion of lemon juice is the “hot days” version, a bit more sour and brightly refreshing on sticky summer evenings. Lemons are highly variable, so as you experiment with the proportions, you may want to work in a little simple syrup to balance the flavors without overloading the liqueurs; maraschino and violette can be overbearing, and I’ve found that these relatively small amounts—less than you’d find in many published versions of the drink—work well for both flavor and color. (I haven’t found a drink yet that is improved by adding more than ¼ ounce of Luxardo, it’s fairly strong.)

Some of the citrusy gins make a fun variant in this cocktail, especially if you want to try upping the lemon nose and flavor without pushing up the sourness. I’ve used New Amsterdam and Bombay Sapphire with good results, but there are many to play with.

Failed Substitutions Department: I tried making Aviations with cheap maraschino liqueur. They were very, very bad; don’t go there. Luxardo is pretty much a quality standard, available everywhere, and the extra cost represents the difference between cocktails and dreck.

Even Bigger Failed Substitutions Department: A bartender with no crème de violette served me an Aviation that substituted blue curaçao. It was strikingly, garishly blue. It did not taste good. I won’t be doing that again.

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Doug Ford

I am a journalist and photographer. Once upon a time I had a corporate job; now I don't, which is a pretty happy situation, all in all. People tell me I'm writing a book.

25 thoughts on “ Aviation Cocktail ”

There are “relatively few applications” for Maraschino? That’s not true at all. It’s an integral ingredient in tons of cocktails, from pre-prohibition like this one and the Martinez, to lots of awesome modern ones, like The Red Hook…

Hi, Rhett, thanks for the comment, it really goes to the heart of the article.

You’re right to point out that there are many cocktails that call for Maraschino. I’ve come to enjoy Maraschino over time, much more than I did when I wrote this article, enough to search out recipes that include it. My remark about never using more than a quarter ounce is amusing in retrospect; I’ll just write that off to the learning curve, developing a taste for the stuff.

The question I pondered as I wrote this article was the likelihood that a home bar in the first decades of the 20th century would include Maraschino, or just the more commonly requested basic additives like vermouth, curacao or triple sec, bitters, perhaps grenadine. It’s pure speculation—I have no idea where one would even start looking for stats on the subject—but speculation based on the marginalization of both Maraschino and Violette, and finally the complete disappearance altogether of the Violette. At least Maraschino had enough going for it that it stayed on the shelves; poor Violette, with even fewer recipes to prop it up, the marketplace just didn’t support it.

I’ll say one thing: I’m delighted that there are finally enough people with the interest and awareness, like yourself, to support these products and bring them some prominence and market viability again.

I’m with you on all points! Wouldn’t it be great to see detailed inventories of home and professional bars from the time? :)

It’s interesting I stumbled across this today, I just started a month-long focus entirely on Maraschino on my blog…

Thanks for the reply!

Don’t you love it when years after you write a post it suddenly comes back to life?

The Aviation is a great favorite of mine. So I’d like to present a different point of view on its last decades.

I started getting serious about cocktails in May of 2002. At that time the Aviation (gin, maraschino, lemon) was “the secret handshake” of the cocktail set – if you knew what the Aviation was, you were ‘in the know’. I believe Dale DeGroff brought it back from obscurity, but it might be Paul Harrington who made it famous in his 1998 book “Cocktail, a Drinks Manual for the 21rst Century” and in his cocktail column on Wired.com [which may have actually been the first cocktail “blog”], and because he was serving them to the dot com crowd in Emeryville, CA.

The “yellow” Aviation (1.5 gin, .75 lemon, .5 maraschino) was a smash hit – in my life making instant believers out of cocktail skeptics. Luxardo Maraschino is great stuff, but easily overpowering and must be strictly measured or you will wind up with what Harrington termed ‘a glass of pixie stix’

When the first edition of Ted Haigh’s Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails came out in 2004, he mentioned that as great as the Aviation was, he had had a ‘Blue Moon’ (an Aviation plus Crème de Violette) which was better. We all waited until 2008 when Rothman and Winter re-introduced Crème De Violette to the US, and by then there were lots of reprints of cocktail books and we all had Ensslin’s recipe in our hands. Here is Gary Regan’s take on that moment – http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/09/28/WIVTS4MNB.DTL

Personally, I was not impressed with either the Rothman & Winter or the “original” Aviation and after buying two more different bottlings of Crème De Violette I can’t even remember what it tasted like. But I should dust off some bottles and investigate again – and try your recipe!

For me the most important point is that the ‘yellow’ aviation can be a tremendous ‘sweet / sour’ drink.

And isn’t amazing how recipes evolve and tastes change?

Your comment about the “yellow” Aviation being a good sour is an excellent reminder that we should evaluate cocktails on their intrinsic qualities, as you did with this one. Anyone who has spent time with old bar manuals knows that just because a drink is a century old doesn’t mean it’s worth drinking; and as you point out, just because a cocktail isn’t the same as the “original” doesn’t mean it isn’t good. Thanks for the reminder.

This sounds so delicious. I love reading your posts- you combine history and recipe into one enjoyable read. Thanks!

Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoy my articles—and the cocktails.

i love your take on the use of the cdv, and the conventions of naming. i would note that your recipe called for London Dry gin but listed Plymouth(the only remaining producer of the “Plymouth” style of gin, sweeter and decidedly more floral than a classic London Dry), so the flavor and sweetness of the cocktail would be different than if one used the Bombay dry

Good observation, Daniel. I should have mentioned something about that, so I’m glad you did. Thanks!

thanks for the aviation article.

i wanted to mix it since years.

a customer recommendet it

and i coudn’t offer because there was no c.d.v

no c.d.v is no aviation

i don’t like the raste of maraschino very much but in

the aviation it has a perfect counterpart: c.d.v

i would like to sample your c.d.v, seems to bring more

colour in the drink then my giffard c.d.v

Hi, Don—I agree that the Crème de Violette seems to be a natural for the Aviation. On the other hand, absent Crème de V., respected bartenders made the drink without for decades. We work with what we have, I guess. It’s fascinating to me how drinks get redefined over time, based on available ingredients, and the Aviation is a good example of that.

Doug, thank you SO much for your blog. I have just “discovered” it and the writing, recipes and photography are outstanding. If you would write an equally beautiful and well-written cocktail book I’d buy it in a second and display it proudly on my coffee table!

Anyway, I’m trying to step up my cocktail game and this site has been very beneficial. I have been voraciously reading everything you, David Wondrich, et al. have to write on the subject. I’m also enjoying Amy Stewart’s “The Drunken Botanist”. But, as subjective as cocktails are, you recipes always seem “just right” and in-line with my tastes. Even a Wondrich version of the Aviation I found online omits the Crème de Violette, but after seeking out all the ingredients recently and following the recipe above, I can’t imagine omitting anything.

One question: On almost all of your pages I see that there are a certain number of comments, but the the actual number displayed is far less. For example, it says “23 Comments” above but there aren’t nearly that many. (Maybe I’m just overlooking a button for another page where they continue.)

That is a marvelous compliment, thank you. I’m very happy that Cold Glass is being helpful. Wondrich and Stewart are very knowledgeable and skillful writers, and I’ve learned much from them, too—you’ve chosen well in your research.

As for the comments: it seems that WordPress, in its wisdom, includes the “trackback” and “pingback” references in their comment totals. I would do it differently if it were up to me, but at least we know where the number comes from.

Thanks for reading Cold Glass, and for the encouragement.

How could I not follow his blog? And thanks for following me on Cold.

I’ve used Creme Yvette as a sub for Creme de Violette – seems to work well, but the drink is decidedly pink. Pink sky at night, pilot’s delight?

Yes, the color’s all wrong—”pilot’s delight,” I like that. Yvette makes a tasty cocktail, though.

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The New York Times

Aviation Cocktail No. 1

December 3, 2008

Adapted from Samuel Kinsey

1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons maraschino liqueur, preferably Luxardo

1/4 ounce Crème de Violette

Lemon twist, for garnish.

Combine the first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake to chill well, then strain into a cocktail glass. Drizzle the Crème de Violette into the glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

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Aviation cocktail

It’s been a while since I made us a classic cocktail. I know, completely unacceptable! Thankfully I received a bottle of Caorunn gin (hooray for booze mail!) and immediately thought of the Aviation. This delightfully sophisticated cocktail is just too pretty (and tasty) to overlook. In fact, there may even be an embarrassing old video of me making an Aviation floating somewhere around the internet, but no need to discuss that at the moment! Please enjoy . . .

I decided to garnish with a couple edible violets because, well, edible flowers duh!

Add the gin, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice and crème de violette to your shaker.

One of the reasons this cocktail is thought to have fallen out of style is the scarcity of crème de violette. No more! Bevmo carries Rothman and Winter, which will more than suffice.

Add ice to your shaker and shake for a full ten seconds. Penguin!!

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Garnish with an edible violet and you’re good to go!!

Aviation Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients:

2 oz gin
1/2 oz maraschino liqueur
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz crème de violette
edible violet for garnish

Directions:

Add all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
Shake for a full 10 seconds.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with an edible violet and enjoy.

(images by HonestlyYUM)

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Woa! This is looking so good! I really like the ediable violet, really nice colors too

This aviation cocktail has to be one of the most beautiful drinks. Beautiful color to it and the violet/viola as a garnish is just elegant. 🙂

I love the Aviation – it’s one of my all-time favorite cocktails. I love the way you’ve done it here.

Yes! The Aviation is one of my favorite cocktails. I always find myself craving this drink around January/February; I don’t know if that’s weird? I think perhaps it’s because I want something floral to remind me that the Vermont winter will not go on and on and on forever. (:

Beautiful cocktail! And I am really loving your penguin shaker!

This is the most beautiful cocktail I have ever seen. ALMOST to pretty to drink.

Todd, I’ve never heard of this cocktail but it sounds amazing! I definitely love the shaker penguin!

This is just incredibly beautiful! I can’t wait to try it!

So beautiful , makes me want to try one.

I’ll echo the sentiments of several other comments, this is a very pretty drink. The colors are amazing and I’m sure it is delicious. I’ve GOT to know where you found that penguin shaker! That is the best bar tool I could ever imagine! 🙂

So pretty! I love the gentle violet color- so elegant. Glad to see you’ve gotten your priorities straight with this classic 😉

So stunning, the color and edible violet make this almost too sophisticated to drink! 😉

I think cocktail photography is the most inspiring, and you never disappoint! I have a big old bottle of creme de violette in the cupboard, so I’m all set.

those violets are so adorable… beautifully captured imagery as usual!

Gorgeous drink that also sounds delicious!! And I desperately need to know where to find the completely perfect penguin shaker. Any hints are greatly appreciated! 🙂 great post again 🙂 thanks!

It looks super delicious!

retired flight attendant here….aviation……. 😉 sounds like my way to fly!

Will try to buy ingredients tomorrow.

PS…penguin cocktail shaker available everywhere…just google

with and without pouring handle…I will buy with handle so as not to obscure the penguin shape when pouring.

Beautiful! This looks like art!

I was just thinking about stocking up my cocktail bar with the ingredients for an aviation, you have given me the shove I needed!

I don’t know what I like best, the cocktail, the wee flower, or that swag penguin shaker. I’ll take all three.

This looks absolutely beautiful. I really want to make this but I am allergic to cherries. What other liqueur would you suggest as a substitute? Thank-you!

Aviation Cocktail

Ingredients (4)

1 1/2 ounces gin
3/4 ounce maraschino liqueur
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
Maraschino cherry (optional)

Calories 182
Fat 0.11g
Saturated fat 0.03g
Trans fat
Carbs 8.31g
Fiber 0.06g
Sugar 7.38g
Protein 0.1g
Cholesterol
Sodium 2.76mg
Nutritional Analysis per serving (1 servings)Powered by

The Aviation Cocktail is a gin-based cocktail whose special appeal comes from the addition of maraschino liqueur. Previously headed for the endangered species list, the Aviation Cocktail seems to be having a revival thanks to the Internet. The Aviation was once regarded as the prince of cocktails, but the scarcity of maraschino liqueur nearly sent the drink into tippler’s oblivion. The name of this feisty Depression-era cocktail is supposedly linked to air travel of the time—a risky venture not for the faint of heart.

Only the most traditional or serious bars still make the Aviation. This is one drink that home-bartending aficionados are dabbling in.

Shake the Aviation hard enough that tiny flecks of ice float in the drink as soon as it is poured. Stay clear of the gooey syrup in maraschino cherry jars. It’s no substitute for the liqueur.

This recipe was featured as part of our New Year’s Eve Speakeasy Party gallery.

Aviation Cocktail

I’ve been wanting to make the Aviation Cocktail for the longest time. I once had someone order it for me when we met at a local bar and I loved it. It’s probably the prettiest cocktail ever and as much as I love purple that could be swaying me but it’s not. It’s sort of a magical blend of gin, maraschino liqueur (so not having anything to do with fake red orbs) and Creme de Violette; the elixir that lends it’s name and hue most dramatically. While I’ve had this glass in my possession for some time just for this Aviation Cocktail, it’s taken a bit to locate the Creme de Violette and Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur; I don’t live as close to a big super-liquor store as I used to and sometimes they are just what you need for procurement!

Still, the defining moment came when I was asked to feature Aviation Gin. How perfect could that possibly be? It was meant to be. Karma. Fate. Perfect.

The story of Aviation Gin started in the summer of 2005 at a small tiki party in West Seattle, WA, when a young bartender named Ryan Magarian was handed a complex botanical infusion by a friend from Portland, Oregon. Finding it unlike anything he had ever tasted, he quickly seeks out its maker, Portland’s House Spirits Distilling. Recognizing a common interest in spirit, cocktail, and food interactions, the distillers at House Spirits share with Ryan their idea for a renegade regional gin style. In June of 2006—after nearly 30 rounds of trials—Aviation Gin takes wing. Many believe this to be the first brand partnership between distiller and bartender in American history.

During these trials the parties worked to define a precise set of botanicals; those herbs, seeds and roots that are the trademark of gin. Juniper Berry is a given for its almost evergreen quality but the others that come together can be unique and with this gin they establish Aviation Gin as a definitively Northwest product. This is no gin wannabe; Wine Enthusiast named it the top gin with a 97 rating. That’s 5 points higher than Hendrick‘s and Bombay Sapphire. It means you need to try some!

As much as I have always loved a London Dry Gin and one in a blue bottle in particular, I can see my bar having both. This has such an amazing aromatic; as soon as the cap is released it wafted to my nose and I knew I was going to love it. It added so much character to this cocktail which is at this moment my new favorite. Word of caution though. I am very fickle.

The history of the Aviation Cocktail was long attributed to Harry Craddock, the author of the Savoy Cocktail Book which has been in publication since 1930. However, more recent information has proven that the cocktail was the brainchild of a German born bartender named Hugo Ensslin; the author of Recipes for Mixed Drinks published in 1917 and the last major cocktail book published prior to Prohibition which started in 1920.

Apparently common practice at the time, Craddock copied Ensslin’s cocktail for his book and in doing so forgot one important ingredient, the Creme de Violette. For many years there was some confusion as to the name, why the Aviation? Correcting that mistake with the discovery of the older tome and adding the Creme de Violette originally intended made the mystery clear; in addition to adding a nice violet floral note, the Crème de Violette lends its dark purple color to the drink. When mixed with gin and lemon juice, the drink turns a paler blueish purple color just like the sky. AHA…The Aviation!

My dad, Captain John Gregory (Jack) Bathe, liked a good drink every now and then; he was a fan of some classics and certainly enjoyed a Martini and a Manhattan. But he loved his gin and tonic during the summer so I know he was a fan of gin too. Add that to his history as a combat pilot during WWII and I think honoring him this week of Veterans Day in 2014 with this drink is fitting. He died early this year; I only wish someone could have served him one of these first; I’m sure he would have enjoyed that. He was very proud of his service and rightly so and taught us this song when we were kids and I’ve always loved it. So, here’s to you Dad, I’ll drink one of these in your honor and if you listen carefully you might just hear your favorite song too; complete with us kids practically screaming the last line!

OFF we go into the wild blue yonder,

Climbing high into the sun

Here they come zooming to meet our thunder

At ’em boys, Give ‘er the gun!

Down we dive, spouting our flame from under

Off with one helluva roar!

We live in fame or go down in flame. Hey!

Nothing can stop the Army Air Corps!

Minds of men fashioned a crate of thunder

Sent it high into the blue

Hands of men blasted the world a-sunder

How they lived God only knew!

Souls of men dreaming of skies to conquer

Gave us wings, ever to soar!

With scouts before And bombers galore.

Nothing can stop the Army Air Corps!

Here’s a toast to the host

Of those who love the vastness of the sky,

To a friend we send a message of his brother men who fly.

We drink to those who gave their all of old

Then down we roar to score the rainbow’s pot of gold.

A toast to the host of men we boast, the Army Air Corps!

Off we go into the wild sky yonder,

Keep the wings level and true

If you’d live to be a grey-haired wonder

Keep the nose out of the blue!

Flying men, guarding the nation’s border,

we’ll be there followed by more!

In echelon we carry on, Hey!

Nothing’ll stop the Army Air Corps!

NOTE: The song as we were taught it ended each chorus with the words ‘Army Air Corps which is what that branch of the service was called during WWII. It has since become the US Air Force but those words weren’t what we learned so I defer to the original.

This would be an elegant addition to a holiday cocktail party; what better time of year to serve something with this beautiful jewel tone in my absolute favorite color!

Aviation Cocktail

Preparation 5 min

Total Time 5 mins

Ingredients

2 oz gin
.5 oz Maraschino Liqueur
.25 oz Creme de Violette
.75 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice

For Garnish

Maraschino Cherries (I get mine online, none of that harsh awful red stuff for this cocktail!)

Instructions

Add all of the cocktail ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry or lemon curl.

This is a sponsored post however all opinions are my own.

I love those cocktail picks. May I ask where you got them? 🙂

Creative Culinary says

I got them years ago Jay At Crate and Barrel but other readers have asked and a search was not fruitful.

Darn 🙂 Thanks for the response. The drink looks great; can’t wait to try making it!

Sounds lovely. Question, where do you get your cherries? You said you bought online? Is there a particular site or brand you prefer?

Gorgeous cocktail, and I learned a lot about gin, which until now I only knew a little about. I think your Dad would fund this a fitting tribute.

I knew most of the words to the “wild blue yonder” song already. My mom used to sing it to us when we were little. To my knowledge, none of our family was actually in the Air Corps, so your guess is as good as mine why she sang it. 🙂

Creative Culinary says

I think there was a time when it was popular…the ‘flyboys’ have always held a bit of an aura around them; not surprising this song about them was on so many lips.

What a gorgeous cocktail! Funny how the history of most are so muddy…so hard to discern the true origins. I have seen this gin in the store before but haven’t tried it before. Must try! How lovely of you to honor your father’s memory with this. Cheers!

Creative Culinary says

I love the stories Carrie; have a great books that is just that so I’ll be featuring some more of them. I really liked this gin; you need to try it!

Barb – that glass and cocktail are works of art! Wonderful post and fabulous photos. Cheers!

Creative Culinary says

Thank you Ann; I knew when I spied that glass what I would use it for, now have to figure out how to get more use for it down the road; it’s to pretty to be relegated to ‘never again.’

Cheers to you too; have a great weekend.

I’ve been wondering when you’d get around to doing this drink! You mentioned it some time ago. Good on you for using Creme de Violette — it really does add nice color. Great drink, really nice post. I’ll bet your dad would like both it, and the drink itself. Cheers!

A wonderful story about both the drink and your dad. And such a pretty cocktail, too!

i love aviations! They’re my go-to drink at the “fancy” bar downtown. I never knew there was so much history behind them. (Also, that glass is absolutely gorgeous!)

Your dad would be so proud of this post. He probably wishes he had one of these before take off too. Hugs.

Aviation Cocktail

Words by: Simon Difford

The Aviation is a classic gin based cocktail which is shaken and served straight-up. It is basically a Gin Sour but with lemon juice sourness balanced by sweet maraschino liqueur and sometimes also crème de violet liqueur, rather than simply sugar syrup.

The Aviation cocktail first appears in print in Hugo R. Ensslin's 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks. Ensslin was the head bartender at New York's Hotel Wallick and is widely credited for creating the cocktail.

Aviation Cocktail (Hugo R. Ensslin's recipe)

2 dashes Maraschino

2 dashes Crème de Violette

Shake well in mixing glass with cracked ice, strain and serve"

The above recipe is a tad on the sour side being light on gin and heavy on lemon juice, so in my Aviation recipe I have balanced Ensslin's proportions by simply upping the gin by ¼ shot and reducing the lemon juice by ¼ shot. The result is better balanced and reveals the delicate floral flavours of crème de violette.

So named due to the crème de violette giving the cocktail a pale sky-blue colour, the Aviation dates from the early age of aeronautics when air travel was a glamorous luxury that only the rich could afford. The brand of crème de violette used is crucial to the look and taste of this cocktail.

Crème de violette has never been the most widely distributed of liqueurs so many, including Harry Craddock in his 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book, simply omit it from the recipe.

Aviation Cocktail (Harry Craddock's recipe)

2 dashes Maraschino liqueur

Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass."

Although no longer strictly an Aviation Cocktail, the combination of gin, lemon juice and maraschino does produce a cocktail with a flavour reminiscent of Ensslin's original, albeit without the subtle blue hue or floral notes of crème de violette. However, Craddock's recipe is very sour and lacks subtlety so my adapted recipe uses a lot less lemon juice.

Popular in the 1940s, the Blue Moon cocktail is an Aviation with gin, lemon juice and Crème Yvette liqueur (or crème de violette) but without maraschino. The recipe appears on the back label of Crème Yvette bottles dating from the period.

The Blue Moon (Crème Yvette label recipe)

"as originated by "Oscar of the Waldorf"

Ice, shake, serve in cocktail glasses"

In his The Cocktailian column in the San Francisco Chronicle (27 September 2007) Gary Regan revealed his riff on the classic Aviation. Called the Moonlight Cocktail, this is basically an Aviation but with triple sec in place of maraschino and lime instead of lemon juice.

Moonlight Cocktail (Gaz Regan's recipe)

"1½ oz Gin (Beefeater, Plymouth or Tanqueray)

½ oz Crème de violette

½ oz Fresh lime juice

Instructions: Fill a cocktail shaker two-thirds full of ice and add all of the ingredients. Shake for approximately 15 seconds, and strain into a chilled Champagne flute."

Gaz used lime juice because he didn't have any lemons at the time but in my adaptation of Gaz's recipe I've mellowed the lime sourness by using a combination of both lime and lemon juice.

My own Biggles Aviation uses gin as the base but is far removed from the classic Aviation with ginger liqueur replacing maraschino and/or crème de violette.

Back in 2006 when launching St-Germain elderflower liqueur I also created an elderflower riff of the Aviation called The Elder Aviator.

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The Aviation, The Only Blue Cocktail You Should Ever Order

The Aviation cocktail on The Blacklist was way too blue.

This week on The Blacklist (that new show starring James Spader, aka Steff from Pretty In Pink), Spader's character Raymond Reddington takes FBI agent Elizabeth Keen out for dinner where he surprises her with a deep blue Aviation cocktail. He tells her, "It's from the '20s, tastes like spring, doesn't it?"

The cocktail—which features gin, maraschino liqueur, crГЁme de violette, and lemon juice—is usually lighter purple/paler blue in tone, and it actually dates back to at least 1911. It was created by Hugo Ensslin, head bartender at the Hotel Wallick on Broadway and 43rd Street, and first turned up in print in 1916's Recipes for Mixed Drinks. Ensslin used: 1ВЅ oz. El Bart gin, Вѕ oz. lemon juice, 2 dashes maraschino liqueur, and 2 dashes crГЁme de violette (serve chilled, no ice). Later incarnations of the recipe eliminated the crГЁme de violette, making it more sour and stripping it of its otherworldly hue.

The drink never really took flight, and according to some historical look backs, "Its obscurity seems a combination of bad luck and an uncommon-ingredients recipe. there is no indication that Aviation, the cocktail, was the fashionable drink of its day."

CrГЁme de violette "disappeared from the United States in the 1960s," but reappeared in 2007, so you can find it today if you want to recreate the classic version of the drink. As this guy says, it's "the only blue cocktail you should ever consider":

As for why it's called The Aviation. just look at the color of the sky.

IMPORTANT UPDATE: The JakeWalk in Brooklyn makes a terrific Aviation, complete with crГЁme de violette.

Aviation cocktail

I decided to garnish with a couple edible violets because, well, edible flowers duh!

Add the gin, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice and crème de violette to your shaker.

One of the reasons this cocktail is thought to have fallen out of style is the scarcity of crème de violette. No more! Bevmo carries Rothman and Winter, which will more than suffice.

Add ice to your shaker and shake for a full ten seconds. Penguin!!

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Garnish with an edible violet and you’re good to go!!