Episode 26: The Aviation

  • 2 ounces gin

  • 1/2 ounce maraschino liqueur (preferably Luxardo)

  • 1/2 ounce lemon juice

  • 1/4 ounce crème de violette *see note

  • Luxardo Maraschio cherries (optional garnish)

Add the gin, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, & crème de violette to a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Shake until frosty and strain into a chilled coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

*note: We recommend Rothman & Winter brand crème de violette because it’s made the traditonal way with natural ingredients. We tried this cocktail with another brand that used artificial flavors and colors, and it was, frankly, terrible.
If you can’t find crème de violette, you can also use another violet flavored liqueur called crème Yvette.

aviation.jpg

The recipe for the Aviation was first published by Hugo Ensslin in his 1916 book “Recipes for Mixed Drinks” but it was likely invented a bit before that. It contains gin, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur and a violet flavored liqueur called crème de violette, which gives the cocktail it’s purple color.

This cocktail was popular in New York in the 20s but when the recipe was included in the famous “Savoy Cocktail Book” in 1930, it’s popularity spread. Unfortunately, the recipe in that book left of the crème de violette.  By the 1940s the Savoy recipe without the crème de violette was probably the most popular version of this cocktail, but we think the original recipe is much more fun & interesting.

Crème de violette was discontinued in the 1960s, but a spirits company called Rothman & Winter found the original recipe and brought it back in 2007.

Episode 17: The Martinez

  • 2 oz Old Tom Gin

  • 1 oz Sweet Vermouth

  • ¼ oz Maraschino Liqueur (we used Luxardo)

  • 2 dashes aromatic bitters

  • Orange or lemon twist for garnish

Combine all ingredients (other than garnish) in a mixing glass. Add plenty of ice and stir well to chill. Strain into a chilled coupe or cocktail glass and garnish.

martinez

The Martinez cocktail is considered to be the precursor to the modern Martini. It was originally created as a gin-based spin on the Manhattan, and it tastes much more like a Manhattan than a Martini.

Old Tom gin is best to use because it has a sweeter and richer flavor than London dry gin and pairs better with the sweet vermouth and luxardo liqueur.

There is some debate about the cocktail’s origins, but most people agree it was invented in the 1880s in Northern California.
Some say Jerry Thomas invented the drink in San Francisco for a customer who was traveling to Martinez California. His recipe wasn’t officially published until 1887 though, so the cocktail is often credited to another famous barman named O. H. Byron. His recipe for the Martinez was published in 1884 with the simple instructions, "Same as Manhattan, only you substitute gin for whisky."
The city of Martinez however, claims that another local bartender invented the drink there.

Episode 12: The Dirty Martini

  • 2 1/2 ounces​ gin

  • 1/2 ounce ​dry vermouth

  • 1/4 ounce olive juice (to taste)

  • Garnish: 1 or 3 good quality green olives (I used a Sicilian variety called Castelvetrano)

Combine gin, vermouth, and olive juice in a mixing glass or shaker with plenty of ice. Stir (never shake - sorry James Bond!) until well chilled and strain into a chilled martini or coupe glass. Garnish with a skewer or pick with either one or three good quality green olives, but don’t serve just two! An even number of olives in a cocktail is considered bad luck!

dirtymartini.jpg

There had been a few similar cocktails in print a few years earlier, but the first person believed to put a dirty martini together in basically the same way you see them here was the one and only Franklin Delano Roosevelt, sometime in the 1930s or 40s.  

He loved to mix his own cocktails during his afternoon “Children’s Hours”, and he absolutely loved martinis. It’s said that he never mixed them the same way twice, always tinkering with ratios of gin to vermouth, or adding fruit juice or other things just to experiment with different flavors. It’s also said that most of the drinks he served were famously terrible.