The Aviation
RECIPE: The Aviation 1.5 oz gin (I like St. George’s Botanivore in this one) .5 oz Luxardo maraschino liqueur .5 oz Crème de violette .5 oz fresh lemon juice 1 violet blossom for garnish Shake over ice and serve in a cocktail glass. Some versions of this recipe call for less crème de violette or less lemon juice; adjust the proportions to your liking. If you don’t have a violet for a garnish, a pansy or Johnny jump-up would be a botanically appropriate...
Read MoreSweet Violet
Viola odorata, the old-fashioned fragrant sweet violet, is a charming thing to grow, but to be honest, you and I will never grow enough sweet violets to make a liqueur from them. Grow them for your own amusement, float them in drinks, and then go buy violet liqueur. My favorites are Rothman & Winter Crème de Violette from Haus Alpenz, Crème Yvette from Cooper Spirits, the same people who make St-Germain, and Tempus Fugit’s Liqueur de Violettes. The flowers are hardy to about -20F, prefer shade and damp rich soil, and respond well to being divided every few years. Look for ‘Queen...
Read MoreBlooming Cocktails
Last month I looked at flowers that can be used to decorate cocktails—borage and pansies and the like—but this month, we’ll consider a few flowers that actually flavor drinks. Some of these have been used for centuries to make not just liqueurs, but boozy medicinal potions as well. Elderflower. Cordials and sodas flavored with elderflowers are a very British thing, but it took an American distiller to recognize their potential. Rob Cooper, a third-generation distiller, tasted homemade elderflower syrup in a London bar and decided to create a liqueur from the flowers. The result is...
Read MoreBooks by Amy Stewart
The Drunken Botanist
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