Sours · Gin · IBA official
Aviation
Gin, cherry and violet – a sky-tinted sour from 1916
Gin, maraschino, a touch of crème de violette and fresh lemon, shaken and served up. Tart and dry with a floral, cherry-stone perfume and a pale sky-blue tint. An elegant aperitif for anyone who likes their sours delicate.
- Glass
- Coupe
- Ice
- Up (no ice)
- Technique
- Shaken · Double-strained
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Time
- 3 min
- Strength
- ≈ 25% ABV
Ingredients
- 45 mlLondon dry gin1½ oz
- 15 mlMaraschino liqueur½ oz
- 5 mlCrème de violette¼ oz
- 15 mlFresh lemon juice½ oz
- GarnishCocktail cherry
≈ 100 ml served · 2 standard drinks
Substitutes: Fresh lime juice can stand in for Fresh lemon juice.
Method
- 1
Chill a coupe.
- 2
Add the gin, maraschino, crème de violette and lemon juice to a shaker.
- 3
Fill with ice and shake hard for 10–12 seconds.
- 4
Double strain into the chilled coupe and drop in a cocktail cherry.
History
Created by Hugo Ensslin, head bartender at the Hotel Wallick in New York, and published in his “Recipes for Mixed Drinks” in 1916. The Savoy Cocktail Book later printed it without the crème de violette, and with the liqueur unavailable in the United States for decades, the violet-tinted original was largely forgotten until violette returned to American shelves in 2007.
- Origin
- New York, USA
- First recorded
- 1916
Bartender's notes
- Go easy on the violette – much more than 5 ml and the drink starts to taste of soap.
- Without violette you get the Savoy-style Aviation: just as tart, but pale rather than sky-tinted.
