#i rediscovered it this year and it tastes like the most delicious soap to me

[barinacraft]

Aviation Cocktail - Flew Under The Radar For Years

The Birth Of Aviation (cocktails)

The Aviation cocktail is a classic concoction which first appeared among Hugo Ensslin's 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks.* Originally published with four ingredients, his Aviation drink recipe contained gin, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur (bittersweet Marasca cherry liqueur) and crème de violette (floral violet liqueur).

However, when the Savoy Cocktail Book was printed in 1930, the Aviation was flying high with a new formula after lightening the load a little. The violet liqueur which adds the pale blue / purple color had been eliminated from its version of the Aviation recipe and still remains preferred by many.

Behind The Bar - How To Mix Aviation Cocktails At Home

Aviation Cocktail (Recipes for Mixed Drinks version):

⅔ El Bart gin

⅓ lemon juice

2 dashes maraschino liqueur

2 dashes crème de violette

Use a citrus juicer to fresh squeeze a lemon. Add the juice along with gin, maraschino liqueur (not the brine that maraschino cherries are bottled in) and the creme de violette to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with an optional fresh or maraschino cherry.

Note: El Bart was a dry gin advertised in Ensslin's book that's no longer available. Also, substituting a couple drops of blue food coloring for the creme de violette to a 3:1:1 mixture of the other ingredients yields an Up In The Air cocktail. See below for more similar drinks.

Aviation Drink Recipe (Joy of Mixology version):

2 oz gin

½ oz maraschino liqueur

½ oz lemon juice

Gary Regan warns that the amount of lemon juice needed depends on how dry the maraschino liqueur is. Taste it first and adjust accordingly.†

This trio of ingredients is also known as an Allen (Special) and a Melon Cocktail with varying ratios of ⅔, ⅓ & a dash or ½, ⅜ & ⅛ of gin, maraschino liqueur & lemon juice respectively.‡

The History Of The Aviation Cocktail

First Mention

As noted above, the recipe was originally printed in 1916. However, it appears to have flown earlier in 1911 with numerous acknowledgments, minus any specifics, including:

Somebody has invented an 'aviation cocktail,' but the aviation 5-cent cigar is slow in appearing.

~ The Washington Herald1

Two other drinks at the time shared the name as well. One was essentially a Jack Rose cocktail with a dash of absinthe and another was said to be half Dubonnet and half dry sherry with an orange twist.2

Origin and Inspiration

Some would like to believe that the Aviation cocktail was created for famed aviator Howard Hughes. However, he was born on December 24, 1905 and didn't form Hughes Aircraft Company until 1932.

You have to remember these legends were passed down from bartender to bartender, never ones to let the truth get in the way of a great story.

~ Simon Ford

Although, the Aviation drink recipe's written debut in 1916 has many believing its creation is tied to World War I, its first mention in 1911 means inspiration came earlier. Possibly French aviator Louis Blériot's first flight across the English Channel in 1909 in a "heavier than air" aircraft was the cause for celebration.

Aviation Cocktails Take Flight - Not Everybody Swears By Them

Although its 100 years old or so, the Aviation drink flew under the radar for years and was destined to become a footnote in the history of mixology until the renaissance in craft cocktails revived and romanticized the recipe. Not everyone feels the love though. Do Not Resuscitate was a seminar featured during the 2012 Manhattan Cocktail Classic and Dale DeGroff, the renowned bartender who authored Craft of the Cocktail, weighed in with his distaste for the Aviation.

Rediscovered in the early 2000s, it was one of the earliest and most celebrated reclamation projects of the mixologist community. ‘It was a darling of the Internet,’ Mr. DeGroff said. But, ‘It tastes like hand soap.’ And, if you use the blue-hued creme de violette called for in some recipes, ‘it’s more like hand soap.’3

This, of course, begs the question:

How would he know what hand soap tastes like?

Guess he shouldn't have sworn over at grandma's house. Rumor has it that getting your mouth washed out with those flower scented brands really leaves a bad aftertaste :D

Far from a sanitized sip, the aviation is a delicious drink. The cherry and violet liqueurs aren't very common ingredients though and the the crème de violette used to be hard to find. You may want to order an Aviation cocktail at a restaurant or nightclub first to see if you like it or a particular recipe version before you stock your home bar.

Red Orders Lizzie A Blue Drink

Season One episode 2 "The Freelancer" on September 30, 2013 of NBC's The Blacklist television crime thriller starring James Spader as Raymond 'Red' Reddington and Megan Boone as FBI special agent Elizabeth Keen has Red changing Lizzie's wine order to an Aviation cocktail while he drinks scotch.

Its way to blue though. Maybe they adding some food coloring for special effect.

Need An Excuse To Drink?

August 19th is National Aviation Day!

Aviation Variations And Other Similar Cocktails

The Aviation drink recipe is a variation of the Gin Sour which substitutes maraschino and/or violet liqueurs instead of sugar for its sweetening. Not to be confused with the drink which is a play on the two words a.k.a the Avariation, a cocktail created when the Next Iron Chef contestants walked into a bar during the seduction episode. Other variations of the Aviation include the Blue Moon without the maraschino liqueur and the Moonlight cocktail with gin, lime juice, orange and violet liqueurs.

More Drinks Mixed With Gin And Maraschino Liqueur:

Bayard Fizz - gin, lime juice, maraschino liqueur, raspberry syrup and soda water.

Blue Devil - gin, lemon or lime juice, maraschino liqueur and blue vegetable extract / food coloring.

Casino Cocktail - an Aviation cocktail minus creme de violette with orange bitters. Casino Royale adds egg yolk.

Colonial Cocktail - an Aviation drink recipe with grapefruit juice instead of lemon. No creme de violette.

Cornell (No. 2) / Doctor Cook Cocktail - gin, lemon juice, maraschino and egg white.

DeeDee - gin, lemon and lime juice, maraschino liqueur and cranberry juice.

Emerson - an Aviation drink with sweet vermouth as well.

Grand Royal Fizz - gin, lemon and orange juice, maraschino liqueur, sugar and cream.

Grand Stand - equal parts brandy, dry gin and maraschino with a dash of lime juice.

Harlem Drink - replace the lemon with pineapple juice in an Aviation cocktail without creme de violette.

Ideal Cocktail - add dry vermouth to a Colonial cocktail. For the martini add to an Aviation drink.

Imperial Cocktail - gin, dry vermouth, maraschino liqueur and aromatic bitters.

Leave It To Me (No. 2) - a raspberry Aviation drink.

Martinez - gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur and Boker's bitters.

North Pole Cocktail (No. 2) - dry gin, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, egg white and whipped cream.

Opera - replace the lemon juice with Dubonnet fortified wine in an Aviation without creme de violette.

Silver Cocktail - an Imperial cocktail with orange bitters instead of aromatic.

Skipper Drink - london or plymouth dry gin, maraschino, lemon juice and OJ.

Snowdrop Cocktail - gin, lemon juice, curaçao and maraschino.

Tuxedo (No. 2) - a Silver cocktail with anise licorice liqueur.

White Rose - a Grand Royal Fizz plus egg white without cream and sugar.

References

* - Hugo R. Ensslin, Recipes For Mixed Drinks (New York, 1916), 7. Print.

† - Gary Regan, The Joy of Mixology (New York: Clarkson Potter, 2003), 209. Print.

‡ - David A. Embury via The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks (New York: Doubleday, 1948) page 125 states that "The same drink, except for the use of rum in place of the gin, is known as the BEACHCOMBER." We haven't been able to corroborate this particular mixture with another source as of yet though. A standard Beachcomber Cocktail is normally made with rum, lime juice, triple sec and maraschino liqueur.

1 - "Aviation Cocktail." The Washington Herald (Washington, D.C.) from the Chicago Record-Herald 22 Sep 1911.

2 - David Wondrich, Imbibe! From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to ‘Professor’ Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar (New York: Penguin, 2007), 230. Print.

3 - Simonson, Robert. "Cocktails for the History Books, Not the Bar." The New York Times 14 May 2012.