Author Notes
If I had to pick a cocktail to be the only one I could ever drink again, my choice would be the Aviation. It is a classic from the early 20th century, and its formula is 2 oz gin, 1/2 oz maraschino liqueur, 1/2 oz lemon juice, and 1/4 oz crème de violette. Sometimes the violet liqueur is left out, but then the cocktail doesn't have the lovely clear pale purple hue from which it derives its name. I have created an ice cold summery rendition of the drink, substituting frozen cherry juice cubes for the Maraschino liqueur. I hope you enjoy! —hardlikearmour
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Ingredients
- For the cherry cubes:
-
1/2 pound
sweet cherries
-
2
large lemons
-
2 tablespoons
sugar
-
water
- For the cocktail:
-
4 ounces
(1/2 cup) freezer cold gin (Aviation preferred)
-
3/4 ounce
(1 1/2 tablespoons) crème de violette
-
1/2
batch cherry cubes from above
-
Lemon juice (optional)
Directions
- For the cherry cubes:
-
Pit your cherries and place them into a blender. Juice your lemons, straining out any seeds, into the blender. Add sugar. Blend until cherries have been thoroughly liquified. If your blender has trouble, add up to 1/4 cup water.
-
Stain cherry juice into a glass measure, through a fine mesh strainer to remove most of the solids. Press out as much liquid as possible. Add water to a total volume of 1 1/2 cups of cherry juice. Stir.
-
Pour into an ice cube tray (or more if needed.) Freeze until solid (at least several hours).
-
Note: This will make enough cherry juice cubes for 2 batches of the cocktail. Alternately, use additional cubes in limeade, to keep your Red Skies icy cold for longer, or eat them like mini-popsicles.
- For the cocktail:
-
Combine gin, crème de violette, and cherry juice cubes in a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste, and stir in lemon juice if desired.
-
Divide between 2 cocktail glasses. Kick back and enjoy!
-
Note: If need be you can omit the crème de violette. It adds a nice floral note, but the cocktail is still tasty without it.
I am an amateur baker and cake decorator. I enjoy cooking, as well as eating and feeding others. I live in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with my husband and our menagerie. I enjoy outdoor activities including hiking, mushroom hunting, tide pooling, beach combing, and snowboarding.
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