Cocktail creation is an art. Sure, you can mix together a bunch of juices with alcohol and call it a bespoke cocktail, but actually refining and balancing the flavours sets apart professional mixology from homemade inventions. A lot of classic cocktails have made it through to the modern day with ease. The Old Fashioned, Whiskey Sours, and Negronis, all have storied pasts but very current avatars that are served all over the world. One cocktail that seems to have missed the boat, however, is the Aviation cocktail.
The Aviation made its public debut in 1917 when it was published in the last cocktail recipe book before the American prohibition set in. The recipe called for Gin, cherry, violets (in the form of crème de violette), and lemon, a unique addition to the cocktail landscape. The book was Recipes for Mixed Drinks, by Hugo Ensslin a German-born bartender, who is also credited with the creation of the cocktail while he was working at the Hotell Wallick in New York. Of course, during the prohibition years the Aviation - like every other cocktail - was low on the list of people’s priorities. But in 1930 it appeared in print again in The Savoy Cocktail Book by Harry Craddock, except this time, it excluded the crème de violette.
There’s still debate as to whether this was a simple error or whether Craddock intentionally omitted the crème de violette because he thought it tasted better without it. Whichever it was, Craddock’s recipe stuck and a lot of modern bartenders still make the cocktail without it. Another contributing factor could have been a simple scarcity of the ingredient. Crème de violette wasn’t a common bar staple and often needed to be stocked simply for this drink.
Even today, procuring crème de violette is a challenge. For over 40 years, it all but disappeared from the Western markets and today even if you can find it, it’s often made with artificial flavouring to replicate the delicate floral notes. One unexpected drawback of missing the violets – aside from the subtle flavour differences – is that the name of the drink became somewhat redundant. The crème de violette gives the cocktail a pale blue hue, reminiscent of a clear sky as seen when flying above the clouds.
But even when you can get your hands on all the ingredients, some bartenders are reticent to push the Aviation, and it might just be down to the unusual flavour profile. The notes of Juniper from the gin, tart citrus from the lemon, syrupy sweetness of maraschino cherries or cherry liqueur plus the floral notes of the violets make for a confusing collision of flavours. No one flavour is the star of this cocktail and if it's not made correctly, it can feel like an assault to your tastebuds. On the other hand, you could approach it as a complex mystery to unravel and savour. The choice is yours, which way would you go?