The Aviation - a truly beautiful cocktail

From The Boys' and Girls' Little Book of Alcohol, available for kindle, nook, and iBooks. If you like what you read here, buy the book! It's cheap - under five bucks!

The Aviation (a variation on the classic)

Note: Martini glasses are much larger now than they were in the early 20^th century. This recipe fills one 2011 glass or two old-style glasses.

1/2 cup of Beefeater gin

1 tbs. lemon juice

1 tbs. Maraschino

1.5 tsp. Crème de Violette

1/2 tsp. “really” simple syrup–mix equal parts sugar and water in a jar and shake until the sugar dissolves

Chill the martini glass(es).

Put all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and chill in the freezer for 5 or 10 minutes.

Take glass(es) and shaker out, add a few ice cubes to the shaker, and shake as though your life depended on it. Strain into the frosty glass(es) and hope that a few shards of ice rise to the top.