June Drink of the Month: The Aviation

I will freely admit that I am not the world’s biggest gin drinker. While the Gin and Tonic is a classic cocktail and many people love it’s effervescence, I've never been a huge fan of quinine so it has been hard to jump on the G&T bandwagon. In the Aviation, however, I've found a vehicle for gin that I quite enjoy. The Aviation is a prohibition era cocktail that rarely shows up on menus anymore because of its unique ingredients, calling for both Maraschino liqueur (which tastes nothing like the violently red cherries of the same name) and Crème de Violette (a deep purple liqueur that tastes about how you image a violet may taste – floral and sweet with just a hint of “purple” flavor in there). The drink is a beautiful pale sky blue and has notes of citrus, the sweet hints of Crème de Violette and the slightly bitter/sour Maraschino.

The traditional recipe, which dates back to 1916, is as follows:

Aviation Cocktail
2 oz gin
½ oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
¼ oz Crème de Violette
2 tsp Maraschino (approximately 1/5 part if you are scaling the drink)

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with either a cherry or (preferably) a lemon rind twist.

I've found this mixture to work very well, but the initial few sips are quite sour. The Maraschino and lemon juice can overwhelm the Crème de Violette and leave you with a bitter citrus-y flavor that cancels out the slight juniper notes from the gin. For whatever reason, the first sip seems to almost always be loaded with bitter flavor, but the drink mellows nicely as you work your way down the glass.

I've been experimenting with a few different mixtures that I like a little better for my Aviations. This is the formula I've been working off of for the last week: 

Robby's Modified Aviation
 2 oz gin
1/3 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/3 oz Crème de Violette
1/4 oz Maraschino

The result is a much darker drink – the color of the sea in a storm instead of a pleasant summer’s afternoon. However, the initial bitter taste is mitigated extremely well. This is a much sweeter drink, so bear that in mind if your tastes run more to the bitter than the sweet.

 I should mention that there is a version of the Aviation that omits Crème de Violette. While Crème de Violette can be quite hard to find, it retails relatively cheaply (I found mine for under $25 from Rothman & Winter) and should be carried by any high-end liquor store. Maraschino is slightly pricier – my bottle cost around $30 (Luxardo is the preferred brand). However, you will get much more use out of your Maraschino – it is a “secret ingredient” in many cocktails, including the Beach Comber, a great summery rum drink with pineapple and lime juice.

Finally, let me include a few variations on the classic Aviation. The first is the "Blue Moon" which follows the Aviation recipe closely but omits the Maraschino:

Blue Moon Cocktail:
2 oz gin
½ oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
½ oz Crème de Violette

Combine in a cocktail shaker over ice, shake and strain to serve. 

The second option comes from the San Francisco Chronicle's wine & entertainment staff, an excellent resource for recipes and suggestions for budding bar keeps (follow the link HERE for the story that inspired this drink). Their reporters tried to find new uses for Crème de Violette and came up with the "Moonlight" cocktail, detailed below:

Moonlight Cocktail:
1½ oz gin
½ oz Contreau (or any orange liqueur – I like using homemade Orangecello)
½ oz Crème de Violette
½ oz fresh squeezed lime juice

Combine in a cocktail shaker over ice, shake and strain to serve in a chilled Champagne flute.

Enjoy!