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Cocktailary

Sour family1916

Aviation（アヴィエーション）

Aviation served in a cocktail glass glass
アヴィエーション · 1916Cocktail glass · Shaken

Gin, maraschino, lemon, crème de violette — a sky-blue pre-Prohibition sky.

Recipe →

01Recipe

Recommended recipe

House spec — an editorial spec drawing on the sourced versions below.

Ingredients and measures
IngredientMeasure
Gin45 ml
Maraschino liqueur10 ml
Fresh lemon juice15 ml
Crème de violette5 ml

Total volume (pre-dilution)

  1. 01

    Shake all ingredients hard with ice.

  2. 02

    Double-strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

  3. 03

    Sink a cherry — the only garnish that belongs.

Garnish — Maraschino cherry

02Taste profile

Sweetness
45Moderate
Sourness*
67Strong
Bitterness
15Faint
Fruitiness
50Moderate
Herbal*
12Faint
Alcohol
55Moderate
Crisp
60Strong

Independent editorial scores, 0–100. *Estimated from the ingredient list — a profile sketch, not a verdict.

03History

1916 — Hugo Ensslin prints it in Recipes for Mixed Drinks at NYC's Hotel Wallick. Savoy's 1930 edition dropped the violette, and the drink flew cloudy for 70 years.

2007 — Rothman & Winter's violette revival let bartenders rebuild the original sky.

Explore in the timeline

Sources — Hugo Ensslin, Recipes for Mixed Drinks (1916) · IBA New Era Drinks

04Recipe versions

Each version is shown exactly as recorded in its source — unverified claims are flagged.

Total volume (pre-dilution)
  • IBA Official Cocktails

    IBA Official Cocktails

    International Bartenders Association · iba-web-current · Official

    • Gin45 ml
    • Maraschino liqueur15 ml
    • Lemon Juice15 ml
    • Crème de violette1 bar spoon

    Add all ingredients into a cocktail shaker. Shake with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. — Optional Maraschino Cherry.

  • Recipes for Mixed Drinks

    Recipes for Mixed Drinks

    Hugo Ensslin · 1917 · Book · unverified

    • maraschino2 dashe
    • Crème de violette2 dashe

    Shake, strain.

    The violette vanished from mid-century reprints; the 2000s put it back.

Pick 2 versions to compare — up to 3 on a wider screen

05Variations

  • VariationAviation (1930 spec)No violette — the Savoy-era cloudy version
  • VariationBlue MoonViolette doubled, lemon light
06The map

Spirits

SpiritGinBrandBeefeaterBrandPlymouth
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