We knew aviators were supposed to be blue, and I had in fact seen a blue one with my own eyes at the Flatiron Lounge. It tasted exactly like ours, and from what I knew had the same ingredients. So why were ours purple, and theirs were blue?
Cosmo Searcher Illustrator Barbara, acting on a tip from Reader Barbara, watched a video about how to make an aviator (or aviation, which I think we may have to start calling them). The bartender (who mispronounces maraschino, but whatever) put everything in a cocktail shaker, including the crème de violette, and shook. (Our method had been to add the violette after the other ingredients had been shaken and poured into the glass, which is how I had seen it done somewhere else.) The result is a beautiful blue drink! So now we are shaking all. (The recipe on the video also includes some simple syrup, which Barbara used in our drinks last week. I would just as happily omit that in the future. The sweetness didn’t add much except another step.) We’re hoping some of the scientifically inclined readers will tell us why stirring yellow and purple results in a violet-colored drink while shaking the exact same ingredients gets you one the color of the wild blue yonder.
In other aviation news, Bottle Bargains in Northport now carries maraschino! That is BIG news, because it’s been very hard to get. Even stores in the city who seemed to carry it must have had only one bottle, because after I went back after my initial purchase, they didn’t have it for months. Maybe the article in the Huffington Post is responsible!
Here’s a link to the video: http://bit.ly/1amNaBL.
It mentions Aviation Gin as the inspiration for the drink. I think we’ll have to get some.
