Aviation Revived

Ingredients

• 50 ml Juliet Gin
• 15 ml Luxardo maraschino liqueur
• 10 ml crème de violette
• 25 ml fresh lemon juice

Method

Shake & fine strain. Serve in a Coupe. Garnish with Brandied cherry + lemon wheel.

The story

The Aviation was created by Hugo Ensslin at the Hotel Wallick in New York around 1916 — printed in his Recipes for Mixed Drinks alongside a crème de violette that gave the drink its famous sky-blue colour. When Ensslin's book became obscure and crème de violette disappeared from American shelves, bartenders adapted the recipe without it, losing the colour and some of the complexity. David Wondrich's research helped bring both ingredient and original recipe back into circulation. Juliet Gin's cherry note makes this an ideal home for the Aviation. The maraschino's almond-cherry character and the violette's floral note both amplify aspects of the gin that are already there. The result is more coherent than the recipe on paper suggests — all the notes are playing the same song.

Tasting note

Sky blue in the glass, cherry-lemon on the nose. The violette provides a floral note that shouldn't work but does, and the maraschino weaves through Juliet Gin's cherry character like a harmony line. A drink worthy of its century of reputation.