Fresh and floral, the aviation cocktail is just the thing to add a little sparkle to your spring afternoons. This recipe gets its botanical notes from the combination of gin and crème de violette, which gains brightness from cherry-flavored maraschino liqueur and citrusy lemon juice. The original recipe first appeared in Hugo R. Ensslin’s pre-Prohibition Recipes for Mixed Drinks (1916). Later variations, like a version in The Savoy Cocktail Book, omit the crème de violette.
If you’re looking to shake up this classic cocktail, try bartender Haley Teague’s riff on the recipe, the Elevation. Or, mix up a batch of the Resurrection, the punch inspired by the aviation.
recipe 
yields
Makes 1 cocktail
2 ounces gin
¾ ounce crème de violette
½ ounce maraschino liqueur
¾ ounces lemon juice
Garnish: Luxardo cherry
Ingredients
steps
- In a cocktail tin, combine gin, crème de violette, maraschino liqueur, and lemon juice.
- Add ice and shake vigorously until frost forms on tin.
- Strain once, then pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a chilled coup. Garnish with a Luxardo cherry.
Date Published: 04.10.23
