Biggles Aviation

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (86 ratings)

Serve in a Coupe glass

Ingredients:
1 12 oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
12 oz Ginger liqueur
12 oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
13 oz Monin Pure Cane Syrup (65.0°brix, equivalent to 2:1 rich syrup)
0.04 oz Rothman & Winter Crème de Violette Liqueur
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Coupe glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of fresh ginger and lime slices.
  3. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  4. STRAIN into chilled glass.
  5. Garnish with fresh ginger and lime slices.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 7/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 8/10

Review:

A ginger-influenced Aviation named after the fictional book Biggles in Borneo about WWII flying heroes Ginger, Algy, and Biggles. Originally inspired by the ginger used in Canton Ginger Liqueur being sourced from Borneo.

View readers' comments

History:

A riff on the classic Aviation created in 2008 by yours truly at the Cabinet Room, London, England

Nutrition:

One serving of Biggles Aviation contains 184 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.2 standard drinks
  • 18.83% alc./vol. (18.83° proof)
  • 16.2 grams of pure alcohol

Difford’s Guide remains free-to-use thanks to the support of the brands in green above. Values stated for alcohol and calorie content, and number of drinks an ingredient makes should be considered approximate.

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Florian Ruf’s Avatar Florian Ruf
11th April at 16:38
Amazing cocktail, I made it with "The King's Ginger" from my beloved store Berry Bros. & Rudd. The tiny splash of violette really goes a long way ...
John CARR’s Avatar John CARR
22nd March at 11:55
Homemade ginger syrup w a splash of commercial ginger beer for the more brewed ginger flavour. Very pleasant indeed! Very recognisably an aviation with added south East Asian kick! As usual with local lemons had to tone it down for my palate. The touch of violette was spot on for balance. Can definitely see myself making this again.
Corrine Strang’s Avatar Corrine Strang
26th February at 13:08
If I don't have the correct jigger, approximately how many dashes would equal 1.25ml?
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
26th February at 13:36
Hi Corrine. Please click "Read about cocktail measures and measuring" under the recipe above for more info. Sounds like you need an Easy Jigger!
14th January at 22:58
I had empress gin on hand, it was a beautiful with floral notes. Perfect for a cold winters day to reminisce about summer. Wondering if anyone has added some sparkling wine? Thinking it may elevate to a more party forward cocktail. Kind of like a French 75.
Justin Aniello’s Avatar Justin Aniello
5th January at 01:05
Lovely mix of flavors, nice and floral despite how little creme de violette. Actually happened to have some homemade violet simple syrup on hand so used that as well. Was good at the full lemon juice but ultimately kicked it down in half to be more my preference.
Angela Knox’s Avatar Angela Knox
18th June 2023 at 00:47
I found that despite the tiny amount of Violette, it overpowered the ginger - added an extra 5ml ginger; but then again, I love ginger
Kelley Reece’s Avatar Kelley Reece
12th January 2023 at 05:32
increduble drink! Ugly color! Sadly, my creme de violette’s color is this ghastly black purple. Drink it heartily just with your eyes closed
John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
28th February 2022 at 01:17
Great cocktail. Like the flavour hints that the ginger and Creme de Violette add. A wonderful anytime drink. Used Simon's Easy Jigger to get the measurements correct.
20th October 2021 at 19:24
Typsik sourstil. Även när franska citroner medhavda på flyget från Frankrike används, så smakar det parfym likt sour stilen tenderar göra. Drickbar, dock.
Kjell Eriksson’s Avatar Kjell Eriksson
3rd May 2021 at 20:58
I’m very pleased to know, finally, how much a dash is: .315 ml!
Simon Difford’s Avatar Simon Difford
4th May 2021 at 06:38
Approx 4 drops = 1 dash. Best to use pipette dropper as comes with some brands of bitters inc. Bob's Bitters.