I recently picked up Ted Haigh’s (Dr. Cocktail) book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails: From the Alamagoozlum to the Zombie 100 Rediscovered Recipes and the Stories Behind Them
Many of you may have sampled an Aviation – gin, lemon, maraschino liqueur. The focus of this post, the Blue Moon, is similar, sub crème de violette for the maraschino liqueur. Haigh didn’t include this cocktail in his first edition of this book because crème de violette was not available to the American public at that time. Thanks, Haus Alpens!
2 ounces gin (I used Seneca Drums), 1/2 ounce creme de violette, 1/2 ounce lemon juice; shake and strain.
You can also use Crème Yvette, which is compounded from violet petals and other secret ingredients and named after an early 20th century French actress. Iterations of this cocktail date back to 1917.
At the outset, it’s light and floral, but it finishes with a bite. Haigh suggests adding an egg white and a lemon twist. I added 1/2 ounce ruby red grapefruit juice and 1/4 ounce simple syrup. I hope someone names a liqueur after me someday.
A Thirsty Spirit 
I’ve tried making the blue Aviation that Haus Alpenz suggests, plus various variations, and wound up returning to my old, unblue standby: my violette now lurks threateningly at the back of the drinks cabinet, waiting for me to make it into violet truffles.
The grapefruit juice strikes me as genius, both in terms of taste and colour. I’ll give it one more try.
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