Raising the Bar | Episode 1: The Aviation

Today, Boyfriend begins his cocktail series. As mentioned in yesterday's post, the series wil be a combination of recipes, tips, tools and ways to build a killer bar without breaking the bank. Enjoy!


Here, dear readers, is the first installment in the series of post on building a home bar and enjoying a more sophisticated approach to cocktail hour. Today I feature a new old drink that has my current attention.

The Aviation was purportedly created by Hugo Ensslin at the Hotel Warwick in our fair city of New York in 1916. Of course, it comes as no surprise to me that a drink created only 3 years before Prohibition was lost for the better part of the last 90 years. Further tossing this drink into the dustbin of history was the cessation of production of it’s defining ingredient, Creme de Violette. While only a ¼ oz it's necessary in providing the drink's signature sky blue color.


Without further adieu here is a recipe for a drink every cocktail connoisseur should have in their repertoire

1 ½ oz gin
¾ oz lemon juice
½ oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
¼ oz Creme de Violette

Add to shaker. Shake vigorously(or stir if that’s your thing), strain into chilled cocktail glass.

Drink it and like it.




Photo: The Bubbly Girl