Aviation co*cktail (2024)

The Aviation is a classic gin-based co*cktail that 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 co*cktail 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 co*cktail.

Aviation co*cktail (Hugo R. Ensslin's recipe)
"1/3 Lemon juice
2/3 El Bart gin
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 and reducing the lemon juice. The result reveals the delicate floral flavours of crème de violette.

So named due to the crème de violette giving the co*cktail 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. Choosing the right brand of crème de violette is crucial to the look and taste of this co*cktail.

Sadly, crème de violette has never been the most widely distributed of liqueurs so many, including Harry Craddock in his 1930 The Savoy co*cktail Book, simply omit it from the recipe.

Aviation co*cktail (Harry Craddock's recipe)
"1/3 Lemon juice
2/3 Dry Gin
2 dashes Maraschino liqueur
Shake well and strain into a co*cktail glass."

Although no longer strictly an Aviation co*cktail, the combination of gin, lemon juice and maraschino does produce a co*cktail 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 a tad on the sour side so my adapted Craddock's Aviation recipe uses less lemon juice.

Popular in the 1940s, the Blue Moon co*cktail 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"
¼ Crème Yvette
¾ Dry Gin
Ice, shake, serve in co*cktail glasses"

In his The co*cktailian column in the San Francisco Chronicle (27 September 2007) Gary "gaz" Regan revealed his riff on the classic Aviation. Called the Moonlight co*cktail, this is basically an Aviation but with triple sec in place of maraschino and lime instead of lemon juice. 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, I also created an elderflower riff of the Aviation called The Elder Aviator.