This may have been the first cocktail I learned to make. I started mixing cocktails about four years ago, at a friend’s cocktail-themed garden party at the height of COVID. The Aviation was one of the cocktails he arranged for us to learn to make.
- 2 oz gin
- 3/4 oz lemon juice
- 1/2 oz maraschino liqueur
- 1/4 oz crème de violette
Garnish with a cherry, or maybe add some edible glitter before you shake.
Some bartenders (the inimitable Luiz Fernandes, for one) also add a 1/4 oz of simple syrup. I could go either way on this.
Last month, my wife and I encountered the Aviation on the cocktail menu of a “fancy” touristy seafood restaurant, listed as the “Aviation Martini.” I could see why they might list it that way: it’s a gin drink with a liqueur to round it out a bit. But on further reflection, the Aviation is more properly a descendant of the Daisy: spirit, citrus, and a liqueur as sweetener.
That being said, it does look good in a martini glass. Cheers.
