IBA Cocktail No. 4… and a Dinner to Remember
It all began at a table in Asheville, NC… Table Asheville is one of our favorite haunts and one of the best innovative eateries in Asheville. The purpose of this particular trip? To deliver three boys to Nike’s Smokey Mountain Running Camp. The arrival into Asheville? The night before the scheduled delivery… late.
Let me just say that it is a good thing we are Italians. Eating late never bothers us. In fact, it’s a reality of every day life. If we want fresh, whole food meals cooked at home we often land at our dinner table at 8:00 pm or later, so when we rolled into Asheville at 9:00 a great dinner was a welcome end to the day, and my oldest son wanted to go to Table.
This night two important things would happen. First, and most importantly, I saw a glimpse of the future. The fall had been a whirlwind tour of D1 universities and college towns. A couple of the universities seemed like a good fit. A couple of the coaches seemed like nice guys. But something was missing. And then it happened.
At a dinner table in Asheville, NC, my oldest son sank into a chair, leaned back, and smiled… and I knew. I knew before we even visited the University. He would go to college in Asheville, because for the first time in many college towns, he was at home. I can’t think too much about him leaving, or I will tear up even while writing, and my singular goal for 2020 is not to ugly cry when we take him to college, but I am happy he has found a town that will let him spread his wings and still keep him rooted in Appalachia. He has a mountain soul like his mother.
But something else happened that night that lends to the indelible nature of the night. I asked the waiter for a cocktail recommendation. He did not hesitate. He looked at me and said “You should have an Aviation.” An Aviation. I had not even heard of this prohibition era standard before that night, but as my son was falling in love with Asheville I was falling in love with the Aviation.
The Aviation (IBA Cocktail No. 4 – The Unforgettables)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Creme de Violette
3/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur
1 1/2 oz Gin
1 Luxardo Cocktail Cherry
First, don’t mess with this cherry. I know they are like a dollar a cherry. You need this cherry in your life though. Combine the liquid ingredients in a tin on tin shaker (you need to buy and learn how to use one of these if you plan to be even a little serious about cocktails) with ice and shake for ten seconds. Strain into a cocktail coupe and drop one cherry to the bottom.
What do I love about the Aviation? Everything. The Gin. The Lemon. The Maraschino Liqueur. The lovely purple color. (Have you noticed that I love this drink so much that it made the new logo?) I also love it so much that I wanted to make it perfect. Enter the testing of gins.
In an effort to learn more about gins, to determine which we liked best, and to perfect the Aviation cocktail my best friend and I decided to make a batch of Aviations. We selected four gins: Hendrick’s, Monkey 47, the Botanist, and Sipsmith, and we let the experiment begin. There were several revelations.
First, on the nose the Hendrick’s had always been lovely, but smell the Monkey 47 and you will smell magic. Pure, unadulterated, olfactory magic. The other two both smell really juniper forward. In fact, we never thought of the Botanist as juniper forward until we smelled it next to the Sipsmith. And then the mixing began.
Let’s just say that we were reminded that Hendrick’s is a great go-to or all around gin. I’m not always crazy about rose, but Hendrick’s does pretty much everything right. I seriously want to drink everything they make, including the absinthe (yes, you heard it here… maybe even first… Henrick’s is making absinthe). The Hendrick’s Absinthe is clear, and a limited edition with less than 700 bottles made. The word on the street is that none of those bottles crossed the pond but, instead, where all sold to bartenders in the UK. Trip to London anyone? Better yet, let’s just secure a coveted ticket to the Gin Palace and head to Scotland to see for ourselves. I have heard bartender tales that an absinthe bar in NYC has the Hendrick’s Absinthe, but… Nonetheless, if you have either a bottle of Hendrick’s Absinthe or an invitation to the Gin Palace we really need to meet. Enough about Absinthe and my undying love for Hendrick’s and back to the taste-testing.
Monkey 47 does not just smell good. It tastes complex, and amazing. Gird your loins for the checkout line though, because it comes with quite a price tag. The Botanist is also complex, but it lacks the complexity of the Monkey 47, because it does not share that amazing smell despite a fantastic mix of botanicals. It’s a solid choice. The Sipsmith was less piney than it smelled when mixed, still I might leave it for a G and T with peppercorns or coriander.
The winning order? 1. Monkey 47 2. Hendrick’s 3. The Botanist 4. Sipsmith. All four are fine gins with each doing the Aviation justice. In the end this order is the biased opinions of two girls who love their cocktails. Will the Monkey 47 become my every day gin? Not unless I win the lottery which I do not play, so no.
I encourage you to grab a few gins you think you like and a recipe for YOUR favorite prohibition era cocktail and do a taste test for yourself. Post your findings in the comments below. I would love to hear what you love. Don’t take my word for it. Find what you love, and drink on…