Aviation
Some cocktails arrive quietly. The Aviation arrived with a name that sounded futuristic, a colour that looked faintly suspicious, and a recipe complicated enough to keep cocktail historians arguing over it more than a century later.
What we can say with confidence is that the familiar Aviation is a gin-based sour built around fresh lemon, maraschino liqueur and crΓ¨me de violette. What we cannot honestly say is that one man simply invented every drink ever called βAviationβ. The paper trail is messier β and considerably more interesting.
So letβs make the drink, then dig into the story properly.
The Aviation Cocktail Recipe
Sangremanβs balanced home-bar recipe:
- 45 ml / 1.5 oz London Dry Gin
- 15 ml / 0.5 oz fresh lemon juice
- 15 ml / 0.5 oz maraschino liqueur
- 5 ml / 1 bar spoon crème de violette
- Ice
- Optional: a maraschino cherry or lemon twist
Method: Add the gin, lemon juice, maraschino and crΓ¨me de violette to a shaker with plenty of ice. Shake hard for about 10β12 seconds. Double-strain into a chilled coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish lightly.
The official IBA specification uses 45 ml gin, 15 ml fresh lemon juice, 15 ml maraschino liqueur and one bar spoon of crΓ¨me de violette, with a shake over ice and a strain into a chilled cocktail glass.Β
What should it taste like?
Dry, tart, floral and surprisingly delicate. The gin gives it structure, lemon supplies the backbone, maraschino adds a dry cherry-almond sweetness, and crème de violette brings the unmistakable floral note and violet colour.
The trick is restraint. Crème de violette is powerful stuff. Pour half the bottle into the shaker and you will not have made an Aviation; you will have created scented wallpaper.
The Original 1916 Aviation
The first printed recipe for the classic gin-based Aviation appears in Hugo Ensslinβs Recipes for Mixed Drinks, published in New York in 1916. The Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails describes it as one of several different formulas circulating under the same name, and notes that an earlier printed use of the name itself appears in 1911.Β
Ensslinβs formula was based on a simple ratio:
- 2/3 El Bart gin
- 1/3 lemon juice
- 2 dashes maraschino liqueur
- 2 dashes crème de violette
It was shaken with cracked ice and strained. The proportions tell you something important about the drink: this was not intended to be a sugary purple party trick. It was a sharp gin sour with floral and cherry complexity.
But Was Ensslin Really the Inventor?
This is where cocktail history starts behaving like a bar after closing time.
The name βAviation Cocktailβ was already appearing in print by 1911, before Ensslinβs book. The Oxford Companion notes that at least four different formulas using the Aviation name were circulating around that period. So Ensslin is best credited with the earliest known printed recipe for the classic version we recognise today, rather than with absolute proof that he personally invented every Aviation cocktail bearing the name.Β
That distinction matters. Cocktail history is full of drinks that were printed, renamed, modified, lost, rediscovered and then confidently declared βthe originalβ by someone who had clearly enjoyed his own cocktails.
The Savoy Cocktail Book Changed the Story
In 1930, Harry Craddockβs Savoy Cocktail Book published another Aviation formula. This version used one-third lemon juice, two-thirds dry gin and two dashes of maraschino β but no crΓ¨me de violette.Β
That omission became hugely influential because the Savoy was one of the great cocktail books of the twentieth century. The Oxford Companion notes that Craddockβs violet-free version was later revived by Paul Harrington, and that different generations of cocktail enthusiasts came to follow either the Craddock formula or Ensslinβs original-style formula.Β
In practical terms, this means you may order an Aviation today and receive something crystal clear rather than violet. It is still historically legitimate β just not the version with the floral liqueur.
Why Is the Aviation Purple?
That rather dramatic colour comes from crème de violette, a floral liqueur traditionally associated with violet blossoms. It is also the ingredient that makes the historical Aviation instantly recognisable once you have seen one.
The problem was availability. CrΓ¨me de violette became extremely difficult to find in the United States, helping the violet-free version survive while the original-style recipe faded from everyday bar culture. When the old formula was rediscovered and crΓ¨me de violette returned to the American market in the 2000s, bartenders finally had the pieces needed to rebuild the classic Aviation more faithfully. The Oxford Companion identifies the rediscovery of Ensslinβs book in 2003 and the subsequent reintroduction of crΓ¨me de violette as key parts of that revival.Β
Modern producers and importers helped put the ingredient back behind bars. Haus Alpenz, for example, publishes a modern Aviation built around London Dry gin, lemon, maraschino and Rothman & Winter CrΓ¨me de Violette, double-strained into a coupe.Β
The Aviation Comeback
By the middle of the twentieth century, the Aviation had largely slipped into obscurity. That would have been the end of the story for many drinks. Fortunately, cocktail nerds are incapable of leaving well enough alone.
The modern cocktail revival brought forgotten classics back into serious bars, and the Aviation became one of the drinks people used to demonstrate that old recipes could be both historically fascinating and genuinely delicious. The Oxford Companion describes it as one of the obscure classics revived during the early twenty-first-century cocktail revival.Β
How to Make a Better Aviation
- Use a decent London Dry gin. Juniper should lead, but avoid something so aggressively botanical that it fights the violet.
- Use fresh lemon. Bottled lemon juice is for emergencies, not cocktails with a history this complicated.
- Measure the maraschino. It is dry and concentrated. More does not automatically mean better.
- Go easy on the crème de violette. Start around 5 ml / 1 bar spoon and adjust to the brand. The flavour should sit inside the drink, not sit on top of it wearing a flower crown.
- Shake properly. You want dilution, chill and integration β not simply cold ingredients rattling around in a tin.
- Double-strain. A fine mesh strainer removes the tiny ice shards and lemon pulp that can otherwise make a delicate drink look like it has been through airport security.
- Chill the glass first. An Aviation deserves to arrive cold.
The Aviation as a Cocktail Family
At heart, the Aviation is a gin sour. Its structure is straightforward: spirit, acid and sweetening/modifying agents. What makes it distinctive is how the maraschino and violet liqueur shift the drink from an ordinary sour into something floral, aromatic and unusually layered.
That is why balance matters so much. The drink is not supposed to taste like violet sweets, nor should the lemon turn it into alcoholic lemonade. The best versions keep all four major components visible without allowing any one of them to become the entire conversation.
Sangreman Bartenderβs Verdict
The Aviation is one of those cocktails that looks like it was invented by a graphic designer and then somehow survived long enough to become historically important.
Fortunately, it also tastes brilliant when made properly.
For a modern home bar, I prefer the original-style version with crΓ¨me de violette because the floral note gives the drink its personality. But the Savoy version without violet is worth trying too. It is leaner, drier and a useful reminder that cocktail history is not a straight line β it is a pub crawl with missing receipts.
Tools for the Job
You do not need a laboratory to make an Aviation. You need a shaker, an accurate measure, a good strainer and a properly chilled glass.
Cocktail Shakers β choose a Boston, Cobbler or Parisian format to suit how you work.
Samurai Steel Japanese Jigger β because βabout that muchβ remains a dreadful measurement system.
Hawthorne Strainer β your first line of defence against enthusiastic ice cubes.
Fine Strainer β for the second strain and a cleaner, more polished Aviation.
Mixology Master Kit β the more complete option if your home bar currently consists of one bottle, a corkscrew and optimistic intentions.
Aviation Cocktail FAQs
Why is the Aviation purple?
Crème de violette gives the classic version its violet colour and floral aroma.
Did Hugo Ensslin invent the Aviation?
He is the bartender associated with the earliest known printed recipe for the classic gin-based Aviation, published in 1916. However, the name appeared in print earlier and several different formulas were circulating, so absolute claims about invention go beyond the surviving evidence.Β
Can I make an Aviation without crème de violette?
Yes. The 1930 Savoy version omitted it entirely. That version is historically important and tastes drier and less floral.Β
What gin is best for an Aviation?
A classic London Dry works beautifully because it gives the drink a strong juniper backbone without competing too heavily with the violet and maraschino.
Should I garnish an Aviation?
A maraschino cherry is a traditional and perfectly sensible choice. A small lemon twist also works if you want to emphasise the citrus aroma.
Sangreman Recipe Card
Aviation
45 ml / 1.5 oz London Dry Gin
15 ml / 0.5 oz fresh lemon juice
15 ml / 0.5 oz maraschino liqueur
5 ml / 1 bar spoon crème de violette
Shake hard with ice. Double-strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish lightly. Drink immediately, preferably before anyone starts explaining aviation history to you from memory.