German bartender Hugo Ensslin authored the 1917 book Recipes for Mixed Drinks – often said to be one of the most influential cocktail books of all time. While Ensslin was not. “The object of this book is to give a complete list of the standard mixed drinks that are in use at present in New York City, with directions for preparing same in the most simple manner to get the best result.” Copies available from Ensslin at 2013 Fifth Avenue, New York City, for fifty cents. The Doctor cocktail is a pre-prohibition era cocktail that traces in drink guides to as far back as 1917, when it appeared in Hugo R. Ensslin's Recipes for Mixed Drinks. As originally described the cocktail called simply for Swedish Punsch mixed with lime juice.
The Aviation is a classic gin-based cocktail which is shaken and served straight-up. It is basically a Gin Sour but with lemon juice sourness balanced by sweet maraschino liqueur and sometimes also crème de violet liqueur, rather than simply sugar syrup.
The Aviation cocktail first appears in print in Hugo R. Ensslin's 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks. Ensslin was the head bartender at New York's Hotel Wallick and is widely credited for creating the cocktail.
Aviation Cocktail (Hugo R. Ensslin's recipe)
'1/3 Lemon juice
2/3 El Bart gin
2 dashes Maraschino
2 dashes Crème de Violette
Shake well in mixing glass with cracked ice, strain and serve' Giada driver download for windows.
The above recipe is a tad on the sour side being light on gin and heavy on lemon juice, so in my Aviation recipe I have balanced Ensslin's proportions by simply upping the gin by a tad and reducing the lemon juice by the same amount. The result is better balanced and reveals the delicate floral flavours of crème de violette.
So named due to the crème de violette giving the cocktail a pale sky-blue colour, the Aviation dates from the early age of aeronautics when air travel was a glamorous luxury that only the rich could afford. Choosing the right brand of crème de violette is crucial to the look and taste of this cocktail.
Sadly, crème de violette has never been the most widely distributed of liqueurs so many, including Harry Craddock in his 1930 The Savoy Cocktail Book, simply omit it from the recipe.
Aviation Cocktail (Harry Craddock's recipe)
'1/3 Lemon juice
2/3 Dry Gin
2 dashes Maraschino liqueur
Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.' Henning port devices driver download for windows 10.
Although no longer strictly an Aviation Cocktail, the combination of gin, lemon juice and maraschino does produce a cocktail with a flavour reminiscent of Ensslin's original, albeit without the subtle blue hue or floral notes of crème de violette. However, Craddock's recipe is a tad on the sour side so my adapted Craddock's Aviation recipe uses a lot less lemon juice.
Popular in the 1940s, the Blue Moon cocktail is an Aviation with gin, lemon juice and Crème Yvette liqueur (or crème de violette) but without maraschino. The recipe appears on the back label of Crème Yvette bottles dating from the period.
The Blue Moon (Crème Yvette label recipe)
'as originated by 'Oscar of the Waldorf'
¼ Crème Yvette
¾ Dry Gin
Ice, shake, serve in cocktail glasses'
In his The Cocktailian column in the San Francisco Chronicle (27 September 2007) Gary 'gaz' Regan revealed his riff on the classic Aviation. Called the Moonlight Cocktail, this is basically an Aviation but with triple sec in place of maraschino and lime instead of lemon juice.
Gaz used lime juice because he didn't have any lemons at the time but in my adaptation of gaz's recipe I've mellowed the lime sourness by using a combination of both lime and lemon juice.
My own Biggles Aviation uses gin as the base but is far removed from the classic Aviation with ginger liqueur replacing maraschino and/or crème de violette.
Back in 2006, when launching St-Germain, I also created an elderflower riff of the Aviation called The Elder Aviator.
October 17th, 2011
Hugo Ensslin Recipes For Mixed Drinks
The Chrysanthemum Cocktail
BY Greg Buttera
Our cocktail connoisseur, Greg Buttera is back to start the week off right with a drink recipe and a bit of history on a cocktail first created by a German bartender making his way in New York back in the early 20th century.
Chrysanthemum Cocktail
2 oz Dry Vermouth
1 oz Benedictine
Absinthe to Rinse the Glass
Hugo R. Ensslin
Hspadatacard driver download for windows 10. Method: Stir
Glass: Coupe
Garnish: Lemon Twist
Ice: None
The Chrysanthemum Cocktail first appears in Hugo Ensslin’s Recipes for Mixed Drinks from 1916. The recipe is also in Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Book from 1930, a source often cited as the recipe’s original listing. Several drinks generally ascribed to Harry Craddock actually appear first in Ensslin’s book. Hugo Ensslin was a German bartender in New York City in the early 20th century. According to a contemporary, Ensslin “worked at the 8th or 9th best bar in New York.” In other words, he was no rock star mixologist–he toiled in relative obscurity. In 1916, he self-published his cocktail recipe book and sold copies out of his home. Though the book failed commercially, Ensslin had a profound influence on the mixology community: the Aviation and the Alexander (with gin–though a similar brandy-based drink called the Panama also shows up) are among the recipes first listed in Recipes for Mixed Drinks. Other notable drinks include the Creole Cocktail and the Deshler. Beyond his creativity, Ensslin demonstrates a tremendous grasp of cocktail theory, building drinks along fundamentally sounds lines, balancing sugar effectively with bitterness, acid, or fat, depending on the drink.
The Chrysanthemum Cocktail is anomalous in that it contains no conventional base spirit. The Benedictine, which is 80-proof, provides an alcoholic backbone for the drink. Herbal notes from Benedictine, dry vermouth, and absinthe integrate with honey tones and lemon essence to create a deep, nuanced flavor profile that remains light and approachable. The Chrysanthemum is a terrific lower-alcohol cocktail for any bartender to add to their repertoire.
Hugo Ensslin Aviation Cocktail
—Greg Buttera