Cocktail recipe
Aviation
An elegant gin sour with tart lemon, delicate cherry-almond notes and a restrained floral perfume.
Ingredients
- 45 ml (1½ oz) gin
- 15 ml (½ oz) maraschino liqueur
- 15 ml (½ oz) fresh lemon juice
- 5 ml (1 tsp) crème de violette
- Garnish: 1 cocktail cherry (optional)
Preparation
Shake all liquids with ice until briskly cold. Fine-strain into a chilled coupe; add a single cocktail cherry only if desired.
Glassware
Chilled coupe
History
Hugo Ensslin, head bartender at New York's Hotel Wallick, printed the Aviation in *Recipes for Mixed Drinks* (1916), calling for gin, lemon, maraschino and a small amount of crème de violette. That is strong documentary evidence for the recipe, though a first printed appearance alone cannot prove he invented it. Harry Craddock's *Savoy Cocktail Book* (1930) omitted the violet liqueur, and that simplified version circulated widely while crème de violette became difficult to find in some markets. Its modern revival restored the violet accent and the drink's pale floral identity.
Mixology View
The violette belongs in the history and in our recipe, but in a restrained dose. The 1930 omission is a distinct published variation, not evidence that the 1916 recipe lacked violette.