When I first started getting interested in mixology and cocktail culture around a year and a half ago the Aviation was one of the first classic drinks that I learned how to make properly. I had watched videos on line by a few professional bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts most notably Robert Hess and Eben Freeman who are the two men that inspired me the most for very different reasons.
Robert (a cocktail historian who hosts a great weekly web show and is a director at Microsoft) inspired me because he was so enthusiastic about the history of cocktails, the prohibition era and forgotten spirits and drinks. I have watched Robert make countless drinks and have taken plenty of notes on both technique and the equipment used. Robert is also a really nice guy who has answered all of the emails I have sent to him regarding recipes and tips.
Eben Freeman is the head bartender at Tailor (he used to also tend bar at WD-50) an excellent bar and restaurant (the restaurant part is closed for the summer but the bar remains open.) Eben inspired me because while you can walk into Tailor and have any classic cocktail made whether it be a Silver Fizz, Martinez or Pisco Sour you can also try and taste things no other bartender to my knowledge is creating at this level (though Eben Klemm and Jamie Bordeau are no slouches). Eben does things like turning cocktails into solids in the form of a Ramos Gin Fizz marshmallow and a Cuba Libre jello square topped off with a dehydrated lime. I remember looking at that cocktail menu at Tailor and thinking I was in Wonka alcohol land seeing items like smoked coke, root beer infused rye, orange foam, miso butterscotch bourbon, bubble gum cordial, ceder milk etc. The list truly does go on and on.
By paying attention to quality classic cocktail making and not being afraid to experiment with different textures, infusions and flavor combinations I’ve become a very proficient at making older cocktails and coming up with ideas of my own.
One thing both Eben and Robert stress is that whe you’re starting your own home bar you should start with the bottles you need for one drink and then build from there. I became quite curious about a pre-prohibition cocktail called The Aviation mostly because it contained an ingredient that was recently brought back from the dead by Eric Seed of Haus Alpens, Creme de Violette. Creme de Violette really is a wonderful, floral liqueur made by infusing grain alcohol with sugar and violet petals. I’ve had my bottle for a long time now because it is an ingredient that is so aggressive that it could really overpower a drink by adding too much.
The Aviation also calls for a dry gin (I used Bluecoat here which is an award winning dry style gin made in Pennsylvania) maraschino liqueur (which is obviously a liqueur made from the distillation of Marasca cherries) and fresh lemon juice. Please always used fresh juice in your cocktails and quality ingredients, if you make this drink with bottom shelf gin and bottled lemon juice it will taste that way.
If you stick to the proportions listed below and use quality ingredients you will arrive at a wonderful, sophisticated, classic cocktail that is very soft on the palate and could easily turn someone who doesn’t like gin into a fan rather quickly. Please try it out for yourself and let me know what you think of The Aviation
The Aviation
2 oz quality dry gin
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
1/2 oz Maraschino liqueur
1/4 oz Creme de Violette
Shake with ice plenty of ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
Filed under: Books, Booze | Tagged: Microsoft, Cocktail of the week, Eric Seed, Cuba Libre, Creme De Violette, Haus Alpens, Aviation, Maraschino Liq, Robert Hess, Eben Freeman, Tailor, WD-50, Bubble Gum Cordial, Bluecoat Gin, Martinez, Pisco Sour, Prohibition, Eben Klemm, Jamie Bordeau, Ramos Gin Fizz, Wonka Land
