Aviation
IBA official cocktail
Aviation Cocktail.jpg
Aviation cocktail
Type Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume
  • Gin
Served Straight up ; without ice
Standard garnish cherry
Standard drinkware
Cocktail Glass (Martini).svg
Cocktail glass
IBA specified
ingredientsdagger
  • 4.5 cl gin
  • 1.5 cl lemon juice
  • 1.5 cl maraschino liqueur
Preparation Add all ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.
Timing All day

Some recipes include crème de violette or Creme Yvette.

dagger Aviation recipe at International Bartenders Association

The Aviation is a classic cocktail made with gin, maraschino liqueur, crème de violette, and lemon juice. Some recipes omit the crème de violette. It is served straight up, in a cocktail glass.

History

The Aviation was created by Hugo Ensslin, head bartender at the Hotel Wallick in New York, in the early twentieth century. The first published recipe for the drink appeared in Ensslin's 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks. Ensslin's recipe called for 1½ oz. El Bart gin, ¾ oz. lemon juice, 2 dashes maraschino liqueur, and 2 dashes crème de violette, a violet liqueur which gives the cocktail a pale purple color.

Harry Craddock 's influential Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) omitted the crème de violette, calling for a mixture of two-thirds dry gin, one-third lemon juice, and two dashes of maraschino. Many later bartenders have followed Craddock's lead, leaving out the difficult-to-find violet liqueur.

Creme Yvette, a violet liqueur made with additional spices, is sometimes substituted for crème de violette.

Related cocktails