Aviation
45 ml Gin, 15 ml Maraschino liqueur, 15 ml Lemon juice, 7.5 ml Crème de violette, 1 Maraschino cherry
Photo: Bramble8 by Erich Wagner (www.eventografie.de) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · All credits
Ingredients
Measures below are multiplied for 6 drinks. Unmeasurable amounts such as “a splash” are left as written.
- 300 ml Measuring jug A measuring jug: pour to the 300 ml line. Gin
- 150 ml Jigger Three large sides (3 x 50 ml) of a standard jigger. Lemon juice
- 75 ml Jigger One large side (50 ml) and one small side (25 ml) of a standard jigger. Simple syrup
- 90 ml Jigger One large side (50 ml) and one small side (25 ml) of a standard jigger, plus a tablespoon. Crème de mûre
- 12 berries Blackberry (optional)
Measured in Millilitres (UK). Sign in to read these in American measures. Print a kitchen card at this size.
What the jigger, the spoons and the jug hold, in millilitres and in fluid ounces, is on the measures reference.
Quick version
- Shake gin, lemon and syrup, pour over crushed ice, then lace with blackberry liqueur.
Method
Pitcher (6 drinks)Pitcher (6 drinks) - about 618 ml of measured ingredients, before ice and dilution.
Timings and per-glass steps below are written for one drink and are not scaled. A full jug takes longer to chill, so stir or shake until it is properly cold rather than by the clock, and pour over fresh ice one glass at a time.
- Fill a rocks glass to the brim with crushed ice and set it in the freezer while you shake.
- Shake the gin, lemon juice and syrup with ice and strain over the crushed ice.
- Pour the crème de mûre slowly over the top so it bleeds down through the ice.
- Tuck in a blackberry and a slice of lemon.
Serve it
Volumes in this story are multiplied for the size above, along with the ingredients. Years, ratios and the capacities of glasses and jugs are left as written.
Bramble
Dick Bradsell made this in 1980s Soho, and it is the drink most often credited with starting the whole modern British cocktail revival. He built it out of the blackberries he picked as a boy on the Isle of Wight, which is a much nicer origin story than most drinks manage.
Getting it right
Do not stir the liqueur in. It is poured over the finished drink and left alone, so the first sip is sharp and bright and the last one is deep and berried - the drink changes as you go, which is half the pleasure. Crushed ice is not optional either: it is what slows the trickle down and keeps the whole thing cold without drowning it.
Tasting notes
Dry and brambly, with a sweetness that arrives late. The lemon does the work up front and the blackberry takes over at the bottom of the glass, which is the little bit of theatre you paid for.
More Gin cocktails
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50 ml Gin, 20 ml Lemon juice, 20 ml Honey syrup, 1 Lemon twist
Clover Club
45 ml Gin, 15 ml Lemon juice, 15 ml Raspberry syrup, 1 egg white, 1 Raspberry