The famous and classic Aviation cocktail has been in the bartender's eye for the past few years , making a comeback after a long hibernation.I was just introduced to The Aviation a few days ago at a gin soaked charity event and found it a very tasty treat, tangy and not too sweet. It really showcased the gin quite well, bringing out the flavors in the botanicals. Each type of gin used made the drink into a new creation.
I got an email recently from Gary Regan saying that the first printed mention of this drink was found in "Recipes for Mixed Drinks" (1916), by Hugo Ensslin, a New York bartender at the Hotel Wallick in Times Square. It became one of the top cocktails during the 1930's and the age of aviation when greats like Lindberg were the nations heroes. The drink became very well known from the version in the "The Savoy Cocktail Book", published in 1930 by Harry Craddock of the Savoy Hotel in London.
Ensslin's recipe and most probably the original version was made with the addition of a few dashes of the almost impossible to find in the US, Crème de Violette, to the combination of Gin, lemon juice, and the tart and tangy Maraschino liqueur (which has nothing in common with maraschino cherries.) If you look up the Aviation cocktail don't be confused by all the different versions, of which there are so many. All of the so many different Aviation recipes fighting to be the pre-eminent one. Well here are two versions you can try right now.
Gary Regan's Aviation recipe
(as printed in the SF Chronicle, Gary is the author of "The Joy of Mixology: The Consummate Guide to the Bartender's Craft", several other books, and a whole slew of article on drinks and spirits.)
- 2 ounces gin
- 1/2 ounce maraschino liqueur
- 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
The Aviation Cocktail ala Painter's Restaurant
(this was the recipe used at the charity event.)
- 3 parts gin
- 2 parts maraschino liqueur
- 1 part fresh lemon juice
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-26-2007 @ 4:16PM
kelly said...
Yum.!!o.k. it is only 1:00 in the afternoon here on orcas island,but I think I need to go to the liquor store.!!!! that sounds really delicious....gotta run...
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1-26-2007 @ 5:16PM
LeisureGuy said...
Sounds interesting, but for a gin-based cocktail it's hard to be a *true* Martini:
http://leisureguy.wordpress.com/2006/06/08/the-martini/-------------------------------------------- I guess it also depends upon what recipe you mean when you say a "True" martini. The original recipe is a Manhattan made with gin instead of whisky. Then the Dry martini was made using dry vermouth, in a 1:1 ratio, over the years the proportions wandered over into the gin heavy side of the equation. Now it is going back towards the original, and of course a requisite dash of bitters which many people have left out in the past few years. From an ex martini guy and one who basically likes my spirits on the rocks, I have had some wonderful gin based cocktails lately. I have lost my taste for martinis, mainly because I want vermouth to be a note, not a major component in a drink. I was at The Pegu Club in NYC last night and had some fantastic creations including the Pegu Club cocktail from a very old recipe. --JMF--
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1-27-2007 @ 9:07AM
Mirko said...
The Aviation Cocktails are in for a rebound: Over here in Europe the 'Lufthansa Aviation Cocktail' has been relaunched last year after decades absenteeism.
According to Google, the Aviation Cocktail as printed in 'Recipes for Mixed Drinks', by Hugo Ensslin (1916) is composed of:
2oz Gin
0.5oz Fresh Lemon Juice
1tsp Maraschino Liqueur
1tsp Violet Liqueur (Parfait Amour)
Fill a cocktail shaker two-thirds full with ice and add all of the ingredients. Shake very hard for approximately 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
And by the way: a tablespoon is quite a couple of dashes... ---------------------------------Thanks for the info. By the way, a tsp. is a teaspoon, not a tablespoon. A dash is 1/8 tsp. --JMF--
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