Aviation

The Aviation is a slightly enigmatic cocktail. You may have heard of it, you may even have had a chance to try it, but it is also a cocktail that very few bartenders know of, and fewer still are prepared to make. The time was, not so long ago, that this drink would be next to impossible to find in any bar, one reason for that was that the principle ingredient needed to make it, "Maraschino Liqueur" (pronounced "mar-uh-SKEE-noh", which is probably not what you were expecting) was all but unheard of. Once it was extremely common, but over the years its availability waned, and in many markets across the country it was impossible to find.

Fortunately, Maraschino liqueur is gaining in popularity, most likely due to the Aviation cocktail. Today, there are at least three different brands that you might find available in your area. Luxardo, Maraksa, and Stock are all distributing Maraschino liqueur. You shouldn't confuse Maraschino with "Maraschino Cherries", since the only thing that they have in common is that there is a cherry in there somewhere. Originally, maraschino cherries were made from wild marasca cherries, which were soaked in eau de vie, while the modern version is a Royal Ann cherry that has been chemically stripped of its flavor and color, and then soaked in an artificially colored, and artificially flavored, sugar syrup. Maraschino liqueur can be sort of seen as a "cherry" version of Cointreau (Triple Sec), although with a level of both dryness and complexity that sets it apart.

Most of the recipes you will see today for the Aviation spring from "The Savoy Cocktail Book", published in 1930 by Harry Craddock of the Savoy Hotel in London. He however most likely got the recipe himself from "Recipes for Mixed Drinks", which is the first time we find this recipe in print. This book was published in 1916 by Hugo Ensslin, head bartender at the Hotel Wallick in New York's Time Square. Unfortunately, the Savoy leaves one ingredient out of their recipe, and so have all recipe books that follow, and the ingredient is most likely the one that inspired the name. That ingredient is creme de violette, its deep lavender blue color gives this drink a slightly sky-blue shade, hence the name "Aviation". Unfortunately, creme de violette is an extremely difficult product to find, with no US distribution that I know of for the real thing, essentially a similar situation that we had with Maraschino liqueur not that long ago. Monin syrups does produce a Monin Violet, which works quite well, but it's a shame that Monin also makes a creme de violette which they just don't distribute here in America. I brought a bottle back with me on a recent trip to England, which allows me to make the Aviation the way it was originally intended.

Aviation

• 2 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/3 oz. (2 tsp) maraschino liqueur
• 1/6 oz. (1 tsp) creme de violette

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a Maraschino cherry.

If you can find true brandy soaked cherries, I always recommend going that route instead of using the modern maraschino cherry. Another option is to buy dried bing cherries, and reconstitute them in brandy.