Cooking Lesson #760: Aviator’s Cocktail

…from the Perspectives’ Happy Hour Bar

How you doin’? I first learned how to fly when I was 16 years old and soloed a year later. I met a guy at Santa Monica Airport who saw me one afternoon dreaming at the planes. He asked if I wanted to go for a test flight. He took me and I fell in love. If my mother ever found out about it, she would have killed both of us. Flying a plane can be something special—hours and hours of tedious boredom, punctuated by moments of sheer terror.
 
Chuck, my father-in-law and I bought an old World War I Jenny—a P-47D Thunderbolt made by Aircorps Aviation for $565. It was in pretty bad condition, and we lovingly built it back to flight condition. By today standards it was pretty crazy being made out of just balsa wood and dopped duck cloth. I had an altimeter, a compass and a gas gauge bubble. Wearing our leather coats and hats, we loved pulling signs and flying over the Queen Mary dropping water balloons on the ship below—just like the Red Barron.
 
Chuck was a hero! He flew over 30 combat missions over Germany in a Consolidated B-24 Liberator during the big one—WWII. At that time, you only had to fly 23 missions before being sent back to the US to train new pilots. He never lost a member of his brave, well-decorated crew. What a plane! What a great guy!
 
When we got back to mother earth we celebrated with my retro party drink, pretty-in-pink Aviator Cocktail—just for fun. This easy gin-based drink is one to get the party started, celebrating our successful bombing runs. My easy Aviator Cocktail is ready in just 5 minutes.
 
Prep time:  5 minutes
Yield:  2 cocktails
 
Ingredients
3-1/2 ounces gin
1-1/2 ounces lemon juice
1-1/2 ounces maraschino liqueur
3/4 ounces crème de violette
Blueberries and lemon zest, to garnish
 
Directions

1. Pour the gin, lemon juice, maraschino liqueur and crème de violette into a cocktail shaker with a handful of ice and shake well.
2. Taste, then add a splash of chilled water to dilute, if you like.
3. Strain into two (2) chilled cocktail glasses
4. Garnish with blueberries and lemon zest.

ChefSecret: Crème de Violette is a floral liqueur first created in the 19th century by steeping violet petals in brandy and adding sugar. The coloring and flavoring are often natural but also can be artificial. That depends on the brand, as there is no legal requirement.

Quip of the Day:  Q. Why did the pilot go to the psychologist? A. He needed help dealing with his emotional baggage.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, please consider donating to  Feeding America, Tunnel to Towers, Union Rescue Mission and/or American Red Cross.

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