Creative Drinking

Un peu en retard...Par avion cocktail

Every year my friend Kevin suggests cocktails for Bastille Day so this year I felt like like coming up with my own sort of French cocktail. As we are both big fans of Aviations, I thought I would try to put a French spin on it and went to work. Gin being the base spirit, I went for Citadelle, a lovely artisan gin from the South of France. I had a French brand of Creme de Violette I had barely tapped into, and then St. Germain sprang to mind. Of course no Aviation is complete without Luxardo maraschino....But then, oh dear, no lemons. Naturally, that meant I had a shitload of limes so, remembering an alternate Aviation recipe I came across a year or so ago, I went for it.

After two or three runs, I found a great ratio but, even with the addition of the St Germain and the swap of lime for lemon, I still felt like it needed something. And then it came to me. Absinthe. Although it was created in Switzerland in the late 1800s, its huge popularity in France in the late 19th and early 20th century with Parisian artists and writers really brings the french connection to the forefront. I then, just for fun, added a dash of Amer Picon, a legendary bitter orange liqueur from France that is nearly impossible to get in the US. I wasn't sure how this was going to play with the other ingredients but, despite ending up an unexpected murky color (far from the lovely hue of the original Aviation), it was a good choice. I then added a couple drops of cherry bitters (instead of a cherry garnish) and went for a slice of pamplemousse(grapefruit, but we're doing the whole French thing here) as a garnish and an added citrus element. Pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. This cocktail is complex but very balanced and approachable. It definitely has all the elements of an Aviation but with a few extra kicks that are with you in every sip, from the pamplemousse garnish that greets you to the subtleness of the absinthe coating the bottom of the glass.

Voila! Calling it a French Aviation seemed too easy, so I bring you the Par Avion!

Ingredients:

• 1.5 oz Citadelle gin
• 1/2 oz St. Germain
• 1/2 oz Luxardo maraschino
• 1/2 oz lime juice
• 1 tsp Drillaud Creme de Violette
• 1 tsp Amer Picon
• 3 drops Fee Bros. Cherry bitters

Combine all ingredients in shaker. Fill with ice and shake and strain into chilled cocktail glass coated with a few dashes of Absinthe. Garnish with a slice of grapefruit peel, expressing the oils over the glass and drop in.