The cocktail created in 1916 at Hugo Ensslin’s New York hotel bar and combining gin, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur and crème de violette is the Aviation.
Hugo Ensslin published the recipe in Recipes for Mixed Drinks in 1916. His formula included gin, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur and crème de violette, a purple liqueur flavored with violets. The drink’s name evokes the excitement surrounding early aviation.
Crème de violette gives the Aviation its pale blue or lavender color and floral aroma. For much of the 20th century, the liqueur was unavailable in the United States, so many bartenders omitted it. That omission produced a less floral drink that was still commonly called an Aviation.
The Aviation is often confused with the Blue Moon, another gin-and-violet cocktail. The Aviation’s defining structure includes maraschino liqueur and lemon juice, while recipes for the Blue Moon vary and commonly omit maraschino.