Get liftoff with the Aviation, Air Mail and Paper Plane!
Jet-setting, gazing at the clouds and traveling to exotic locations have long been romanticized. As much as in music and the movies, defying gravity and the thrill of flight are sentiments that have fueled the imagination of inspired bartenders. Aero-cocktails are similar to the perfect takeoff, crafted with equal parts precision, balance and lift.
From the pre-Prohibition Aviation and a 1930’s rummy Airmail to the modern classic Paper Plane, together these cocktails form a flight path through history.
Named in homage to the glamourous age of aeronautics, the Aviation is a floral, gin-soaked reach for the clouds. It was first listed in New York bartender Hugo Ensslin’s Recipes for Mixed Drinks, printed in 1916. Made by shaking together gin, fresh lemon juice and Luxardo maraschino liqueur, it derives its violet-sky blue tint from crème de violette, an aromatic and floral liqueur made from macerated violet petals.
The Aviation fits the atmosphere of Buckhead’s Red Phone Booth, where you can sip the periwinkle hued cocktail in a 1920s-style speakeasy. Bartenders take time and care to finely strain the ingredients into a chilled coupe. Tucked into the leather sofas in the low lighting with the scent of cigar smoke in the room, you may begin talking about the golden age of travel.
The Airmail delivers high-altitude luxury with a rum and Champagne backbone. Originally created by the Bacardi company as a promotion celebrating the launch of airmail service between Miami and Cuba, the 1930s classic flourished in a time when Americans flew to Cuba to legally consume alcohol. Much like a Caribbean version of a French 75 or a sparkling daiquiri, the Airmail combines rum, honey, lime juice and Champagne or sparkling wine. Playing with different types of rum can change the cocktail, from the depth and richer flavors of golden or aged rum to the crispness of white rum to a grassy, earthy profile from rhum agricole.
The Betty at the Kimpton Sylvan Hotel Buckhead brands itself as “an escape to a bygone era.” It’s the perfect place to try a version of the Airmail they call “Old Jamaican,” made with Appleton Estate Aged Rum, lime juice, simple syrup and a dash of Angostura. The ingredients get a hard shake over ice and are strained into a coupe. Villa Sandi Il Fresco Prosecco (a brut style from Veneto with notes of green apple) tops the concoction before it gets crowned with a sprig of mint. It’s stamped with effervescence and elegance.
A modern classic, the Paper Plane serves as a 21st century stowaway, using a bittersweet quartet of whiskey, aperitif, citrus and amaro in equal measure. It’s an easy to prepare and remember recipe that proves even the simplest design can soar.
Created by Sam Ross in 2008 for Chicago’s Violet Hour, the Paper Plane has a sweet-tart profile using no sweeteners and no modifiers. Sweet, sour and bitter are in perfect proportion. While it attains a golden balance, there is an assertiveness to each ingredient. It’s a cocktail to talk about, a slow sipper. Ross originally used bourbon, Amaro Nonino Quintessentia, lemon juice and Campari for the recipe but later swapped Campari for Aperol to lessen the bitterness. Unlike most amari made from neutral grain spirits, Nonino, made in northeastern Italy, is crafted from grape-based grappa with a secret family recipe of botanicals such as citrus peels, gentian, rhubarb, quinine bark and thyme.
You can find the embodiment of Ross’ creation at Brookhaven’s Terra Terroir and Dunwoody’s Joey D’s Oak Room. For an exemplary version made with local ingredients, Confab Kitchen & Bar shakes together bourbon and amaro from Distillery of Modern Art, Aperol and lemon juice for perfect liftoff.
CONFAB KITCHEN & BAR
confabatl.com
@confabatl
JOEY D’S OAK ROOM
joeydsoakroom.com
@joeydsoakroom
RED PHONE BOOTH
redphonebooth.com
@rpbbuckhead
TERRA TERROIR
terraterroir.com
@terraterroirbistro
THE BETTY
thebettyatl.com
@thebettyrestaurant
