The Aviation

[slkinsey]

[Editors Note: The side discussion on the "Original Gin" thread on aviations reached the point where it seemed to cry out for its own thread, so here it is.]

As for the Aviation... it might be difficult finding a bar that can serve this. It relies upon "Maraschino Liqueur", which is -not- the juice from a jar of Maraschino's but instead is a clear liqueur made from Marasca cherries. It can be very hard to find sometimes, and even harder to find a bar that stocks it.

Any brands you recommend?

Edited May 14, 2004 by JAZ (log)

[Splificator]

As for the Aviation... it might be difficult finding a bar that can serve this. It relies upon "Maraschino Liqueur", which is -not- the juice from a jar of Maraschino's but instead is a clear liqueur made from Marasca cherries. It can be very hard to find sometimes, and even harder to find a bar that stocks it.

Any brands you recommend?

Luxardo is the classic one, a supremely funky-tasting specimen that comes in a straw-covered bottle; the process by which it's made involves separate fermentation of the cherry juice and pomace--if that's what you call it with cherries--including stems and leaves, and all kinds of other complicated, old-fashioned behavior.

If Luxardo's too funky (it's really quite pungent), another good brand that has decent distribution is Stock, which is cleaner-tasting but still quite flavorful. Personally, I prefer the Luxardo.

There's another brand out there which Doc swears by, but I can't recall it's name. It's Croatian, which is a good thing, but I don't think it's distributed in New York.

[bleachboy]

I'm doing grocery shopping today, so I'll stop by some liquor stores and try to source out some of this maraschino liqueur and post results tonight!

After reading Splificator's warning, I decided to not try to order an Aviation last night -- mostly because the wife has been craving nachos so we went to a nacho place.

[Dan Ryan]

I think Maraska is probably the Croatian brand you're thinking of.

Aviation good.

Aviation very good.

[slkinsey]

I've made a nice-tasting variation on the Aviation using Cherry Heering instead of maraschino.

[Dan Ryan]

Maraska also do a straw-covered smaller bottle, but I buy the larger strawless. I know this was originally a gin thread, but now we're on the subject of maraschino, what about a mention for the Florida Daquiri and Hemingway Special (basically daquiris with added grapefruit juice and maraschino)? Great drinks, well worth a try.

[Splificator]

The owner collects various liqueurs and liquors on his frequent European travels and I know I've seen the Luxardo because of the straw-covered bottle.

Better yet, I'll ask if he'll mix up an Aviation. 

While you're at it, you might ask him if he's snagged any creme de violette: according to Hugo Ensslin's 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks, which has the earliest formula for the drink I've been able to find, that went into the Aviation along with the maraschino, lemon juice and gin (I use a teaspoon of each liqueur, half an ounce of strained lemon juice and two ounces of gin). It gives the drink a pale, skyish blue color--which explains its name.

Good luck!

[Dan Ryan]

Never knew about the violette. Might try parfait amour in my next aviation if that's not too sacrilegious (cf Jupiter Cocktail). Cool tip Splificator. Hvala ljepa!

[Splificator]

Maraska also do a straw-covered smaller bottle, but I buy the larger strawless. I know this was originally a gin thread, but now we're on the subject of maraschino, what about a mention for the Florida Daquiri and Hemingway Special (basically daquiris with added grapefruit juice and maraschino)? Great drinks, well worth a try.

Maraska is indeed the stuff I was thinking of, and now I see that, according to Beverage Media, it is available here in NY; I'll have to track it down.

Agreed, the Florida/Floridita Daiquiri is a great drink.

Another thing worth trying is a 19th-century "Gin Cocktail" (before there was the Martini, there was the Gin Cocktail): 2 oz gin, 1/2 teaspoon simple syrup, 1/2 teaspoon maraschino, 2 dashes bitters, stirred and strained and topped off with a twist. This is surprisingly good--even gin-haters will bite at it, provided you make it cold enough and don't tell them what it is they're drinking. It also works very well with Genever gin (it comes out tasting nice and malty).

[Splificator]

Might try parfait amour in my next aviation if that's not too sacrilegious (cf Jupiter Cocktail). Cool tip Splificator. Hvala ljepa!

Thanks to you, too! The color will come out right, anyway--and that's all the violette is really there for. Should work fine.

And I'm sure the Bemelmans Bar will make you an excellent Aviation, if Audrey has anything to say about it, as will Milk & Honey; they used to make them at Angel's Share, too, but I haven't been in in a while.

[slkinsey]

FYI, I've created a thread in the NYC forum about the top cocktail bars in the City. Please go over there and chime in with your thoughts.

[bleachboy]

Well, I have just made and tasted my very first Aviation -- wow! What a delicious drink. The earthy notes of the gin and maraschino liqueur (Splificator nailed it with "funky") and the perfect balance of sweet and sour make this a mouthwatering beverage with a truly lovely balance.

Unfortunately the only maraschino liqueur available in Nashville, apparently, is Luxardo, so no head-to-head taste tests today. I may make some more later tonight with other fruit flavored liqueurs, though, as an experiment.

The recipe I used was:

2 1/2 shots gin

1 1/2 shots freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 shot Luxardo

1/3 shot sugar syrup

Lemon zest garnish

Bottoms up!

[slkinsey]

Nice, Don. My Aviation is something like:

2.0 oz : gin

0.5 oz : fresh lemon juice

0.5 oz : maraschino

Lemon twist

[bleachboy]

2.0 oz : gin

0.5 oz : fresh lemon juice

0.5 oz : maraschino

Lemon twist

I'll have to try this way too. I did not taste the maraschino liqueur for sweetness first, but the drink seems well-balanced, though maybe a tad on the sweet side. Your recipe would certainly be easier to make, and would definitely fit into my cocktail glass better (the recipe I followed made about one-and-a-half drinks) since my glasses are around 4 or 5 ounces, and the shot glass I use is 1 1/4 oz. :)

[bleachboy]

Just made myself an Aviation "slkinsey" and I have to admit it is closer to perfect than my previous attempt. The cherry and lemon flavors are much more muted and intriguing. If somebody handed me this drink, and I didn't know what was in it, I doubt I'd be able to guess. I'm not sure I'd even identify it as a gin drink. But it is almost addictively tasty.

My only complaint would be that it has an ever-so-slight bitter edge. I believe slkinsey's recipe will be my standard, but with the addition of a teaspoon of sugar syrup.

Thanks for teaching me a new drink, folks!

[slkinsey]

Two cocktails, and it's barely 5:00! You, sir, are a man after my own heart!

[cdh]

Can someone name a bar in Manhattan where I can try a proper Aviation before I go off searching for maraschino liqueur?

Good Manhattan bars that can do an Aviation for you:

Angel's Share.

The King Cole Bar at the St Regis.

Maybe (but I'm not sure) the bar on top of the Peninsula Hotel.

That's all the places I've had one... and I'm not sure about the Peninsula.

Good luck in the hunt.

Edited May 11, 2004 by cdh (log)

[Splificator]

If somebody handed me this drink, and I didn't know what was in it, I doubt I'd be able to guess.

For me, that's the peak of mixology--when the flavors of the ingredients blend into something completely different, a taste that has never existed before. When it works, it's just so friggin cool. (It is however to be distinguished from the "you can't taste the liquor" goal of so much modern mixing. I prefer you can taste the liquor, you just can't identify it.)

And yeah, two down by 5:00 is awesome.

[JAZ]

One of my favorite bartenders here in San Francisco makes a couple of variations of the Aviation, one with a bit of crushed mint, and one with a splash of grapefruit juice. Both are very nice.

[plattetude]

Can someone name a bar in Manhattan where I can try a proper Aviation before I go off searching for maraschino liqueur?

I believe I've seen the Aviation on the drink menu at Julie Reiner's Flatiron Lounge as well.

I gotta say, it's one of my favorite ever cocktails, and one could argue that my first Aviation was a turning point in my cocktailian life. Some 6 years ago or so, on my first visit to the recently shuttered (and muchly missed) Grange Hall in Greenwich Village, I spied this most sublime drink on the menu and promptly ordered it. Within a week or two, I had bought my first bottle of maraschino liqueur (Stock -- I need to find a bottle of Luxardo), and by now I consider it a staple in my home bar. That experience taught me how little I knew about classic cocktails, and how much there was to learn.... I've been doing my best to catch up!

Christopher

[Lan4Dawg]

all the receipts I have for an Aviation call for apricot brandy & no simple syrup or sugar (except for the one in an ancient "Old Mr. Boston" bar book which calls for gin, lemon, & maraschino only). I checked the dozen or so bar books I have just to confirm and a couple did not even include the drink. It had been a long time since I sampled one and forgot about them until this thread. A long lost acquaintance used to drink them when she could find a bartender who knew how to make them and had the ingredients.

btw, does not Peter Heering make a maraschino liqueur? Cherry Heering or some such? I remember it being behind the bar at a place I worked and never having touched the bottle except for inventory purposes in the almost ten years I worked there.

[JAZ]

No, Cherry Heering is different -- much sweeter and less complex.

[Lan4Dawg]

No, Cherry Heering is different -- much sweeter and less complex.

thx Jaz, I remember some one comparing Cherry Heering to cough syrup and that did not seem to be the flavor of Luxardo and I was not about to go and buy a bottle of Cherry Heering just to compare.

[JAZ]

I know this was originally a gin thread, but now we're on the subject of maraschino, what about a mention for the Florida Daquiri and Hemingway Special (basically daquiris with added grapefruit juice and maraschino)? Great drinks, well worth a try.

I found a recipe for a drink called a Beachcomber, which also included a splash of maraschino. Since its ingredients happened to coincide with the ingredients I had on hand, I gave it a try (okay, two tries.) The original recipe (from Harrington's book) called for 1.5 oz. white rum, .5 oz triple sec, .75 oz lime juice and "two drops" of maraschino. After a bit of experimentation, I ended up with 1.5 oz. rum, .25 oz. triple sec, .5 oz lime juice, 1 teaspoon maraschino, and a couple dashes of peach bitters.

[ned]

WD-50 makes a more than passable aviation.

Does anybody have an opinion about rocks or up? I made the drink based on hearing about it from a friend. I went out and got Maraschino, test tubes and a densimeter, squeezed some lemons. . . so on and so forth, served it over ice. I kind of like it that way. Less fussy. Just have to be sure to drink it fast.

I use Maraska (found it at Sherry-Lehmans) . As far as sweetness goes, my take is that one ought to err on the opposite side of it. Best to keep the simple syrup on the shelf.

Wonder how a meyer lemon would do rather than a regular one?