This Aviation Cocktail made with crème de violette liqueur is beautiful and delicious and requires just four ingredients. If you’ve never tried crème de violette, use this recipe as an excuse to add it to your liquor cabinet! With a floral flavor from violet flowers and a rich bluish-purple color, this ingredient is a bit sweet and has a botanical aroma. Best of all, it colors this drink a brilliant sky-like hue. You can use more or less of it in the recipe to suit your taste.
A classic cocktail, this drink dates back to pre-prohibition times and has been shaken up and enjoyed for decades. Sweet and tart, the cocktail also includes gin, maraschino liqueur, and lemon juice. The fruity cherry notes of the maraschino liqueur and the tart, citrusy tang of the lemon juice are in perfect harmony with the dry gin and the floral notes of the violette liqueur. For more classic cocktails, try my French 75 recipe, classic martini recipe, or paloma recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Gin – use your favorite good-quality gin for this drink. The fresh botanical notes of this liquor pair well with the floral and fruity flavors of the other ingredients.
Crème de violette – this vibrantly purple-blue colored liquor is made with violets which lend both flavor and color. I used Rothman & Winter crème de violette for this recipe. You can usually find it at a specialty local liquor store or one with a wide selection of liqueurs.
Maraschino liqueur – made from maraschino cherries, this dry liqueur has a slightly tart taste and is less sweet than simple syrup, maraschino cherry juice, or other fruit-derived liqueurs.
Lemon juice – fresh lemon juice gives a tart, lemony balance to the sweetness of the maraschino and violet liqueurs. Use freshly squeezed juice whenever possible for this recipe, and save some of the peel to garnish!
How to Make an Aviation Cocktail
1. In a cocktail shaker, combine the gin, lemon juice, crème de violette, and maraschino liqueur. Use more or less violet liqueur to suit your taste or for a richer color. Fill the shaker with ice.
2. Shake for at least 15 seconds or until the shaker feels cold.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
4. Garnish with a lemon twist or a brandied cherry, and serve immediately.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
- Shake the cocktail well. Shaking the ingredients with ice cubes not only combines them well but also chills the drink, so shake this drink for several seconds before straining into your favorite cocktail glass.
- Chill your glass ahead of time. To help keep the aviation gin drink cold as you sip it, chill your glass ahead of time, for at least 15 minutes in the freezer or 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- Use a vegetable peeler for the perfect twist. Before cutting and juicing the lemon, use a vegetable peeler to make the lemon twist garnish. The peeler will give you a nice thin slice. It’s easier to work with the lemon peel while the fruit is whole, instead of trying to zest juiced halves.
- Choose glassware that shows off the drink. One of the notable things about the aviator drink is its color. I recommend using clear barware for serving so your guests can appreciate the sky-like hue.
- Store crème de violette with other liquor. This liqueur does not contain cream, so it does not require refrigeration and can be stored in a cool, dry location with your other liquor.
Frequently Asked Questions
This gin aviation cocktail is said to have been created by Hugo Ensslin, a bartender in New York City who published the original recipe for the drink in his book, Recipes for Mixed Drinks, in 1917. The aviator gin drink was also included in The Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock, published in 1930.
The drink gets its name from its bluish violet coloring that comes from the creme de violette, which makes the cocktail look like the sky. The start of commercial airlines and fascination with aviation was dawning around the time this drink first started being shaken up.
Made with violet flowers, crème de violette tastes and smells floral and has a sweetness that isn’t overpowering. While this liquor does not contain cream, it is often described as having a creamy flavor due to the inclusion of sugar, making it ideal for cocktails made with other tart ingredients like in this aviation recipe.
Similar drinks to this are those also made with gin, lemon, or maraschino cherries. A gin fizz, gin sour, or Tom Collins are cocktails that also use a combination of gin and lemon if you enjoy the citrusy flavor combination. Or, use limes instead of lemons and try a gimlet. If you prefer the sweetness of maraschino cherries more than maraschino liqueur, try an amaretto sour with lemon and amaretto liqueur.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this aviation cocktail recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Aviation Cocktail
Equipment
- Jigger or measuring cup
- Coupe glass
Ingredients
- 2 ounces gin
- ½ ounce lemon juice
- ½ ounce crème de violette
- ½ ounce maraschino liqueur
- Lemon twist or cocktail cherry
Instructions
- In a cocktail shaker, combine the gin, lemon juice, crème de violette, maraschino liqueur. Fill with ice. Shake until very cold, about 15 seconds.
- Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist or cherry.
Notes
- Shake the cocktail well. Shaking the ingredients with ice cubes not only combines them well but also chills the drink, so shake this drink for several seconds before straining into your favorite cocktail glass.
- Chill your glass ahead of time. To help keep the aviation gin drink cold as you sip it, chill your glass ahead of time, for at least 15 minutes in the freezer or 1 hour in the refrigerator.
- Use a vegetable peeler for the perfect twist. Before cutting and juicing the lemon, use a vegetable peeler to make the lemon twist garnish. The peeler will give you a nice thin slice. It’s easier to work with the lemon peel while the fruit is whole, instead of trying to zest juiced halves.
- Choose glassware that shows off the drink. One of the notable things about the aviator drink is its color. I recommend using clear barware for serving so your guests can appreciate the sky-like hue.
- Store crème de violette with other liquor. This liqueur does not contain cream, so it does not require refrigeration and can be stored in a cool, dry location with your other liquor.
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