Aviation
Gin, lemon, maraschino and a little crème de violette. A pale, floral, lilac-blue sour.
- Time
- 5 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Glass
- Coupe
- Strength
- 2.4 UK units
How to make an Aviation
- Chill the coupe. Fill a coupe with ice and water and set it aside while you make the drink.
- Shake. Add the gin, lemon juice, maraschino and crème de violette to a shaker with ice. Shake hard for 12 seconds, until the tin is frosted.
- Double strain. Tip out the ice water and strain through a fine strainer into the coupe. The drink should look clear and pale lilac.
- Garnish. Drop a cherry into the glass. Taste it: it should be sharp, a little floral and dry.
- Glass
- CoupeNo coupe? A small wine glass.
- Ice
- No ice
- Garnish
- A cocktail cherryOr: A lemon twist.
What you need to make an Aviation
Kit
JiggerA double-ended measure, usually 25 ml and 50 ml.
Cocktail shakerA two-piece Boston tin is the easiest to use and clean.
StrainerA Hawthorne strainer fits over the tin or glass.
Fine strainerA small tea strainer catches ice shards.
Citrus squeezerFresh juice makes the biggest difference of anything.
Bottles we'd use
- London dry ginPlymouth or Tanqueray both give enough juniper to stand up to the maraschino.Find it on Amazon
- Maraschino liqueurLuxardo is the standard and a bottle lasts a long time.Find it on Amazon
- Crème de violetteRothman & Winter is the usual choice in the UK.Find it on Amazon
Links to Amazon are affiliate links: if you buy through them, Bar Bandol may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
The Aviation story
The Aviation first appeared in Hugo Ensslin's 1916 book Recipes for Mixed Drinks, with gin, lemon, maraschino and crème de violette. The violette gives it a pale sky-blue to lilac colour, which is the usual explanation for the name. Later recipe books left the violette out, and for a long time the drink was made without it.
It is easy to overdo the violette, which tastes of soap if you add too much. A teaspoon is enough to colour and perfume it. The maraschino adds a dry, cherry-pit note rather than sweetness, so the drink stays sharp and gin-led.
Aviation: your questions answered
What is in an Aviation?
An Aviation is made with 50 ml London dry gin, 20 ml fresh lemon juice, 10 ml maraschino liqueur and 5 ml crème de violette. Garnish: a cocktail cherry.
Is an Aviation shaken or stirred?
An Aviation is shaken, not stirred. Shaking hard with ice chills it quickly and helps mix the juice in properly, which stirring cannot do. Shake until the outside of the shaker feels very cold.
How strong is an Aviation?
Made to this recipe, an Aviation contains about 2.4 UK units of alcohol per drink. That is worked out from typical bottle strengths, so it changes with the bottles you use. UK guidelines advise not regularly drinking more than 14 units a week.
What glass do you serve an Aviation in?
Serve an Aviation in a coupe. No coupe? A small wine glass.
