Elder Aviator

Difford’s Guide
Discerning Drinkers (97 ratings)
  • Elder Aviator Image

    Elder Aviator

  • Jump to
Elder Aviator image

Serve in a Martini glass

Ingredients:
2 oz Hayman's London Dry Gin
2⁄3 oz Elderflower liqueur
1⁄4 oz Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
1⁄2 oz Lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1⁄3 oz Chilled water omit if using wet ice
× 1 1 serving
Read about cocktail measures and measuring

How to make:

  1. Select and pre-chill a Martini glass.
  2. Prepare garnish of lemon zest twist.
  3. SHAKE all ingredients with ice.
  4. FINE STRAIN into chilled glass.
  5. EXPRESS lemon zest twist over the cocktail and use as garnish.

Strength & taste guide:

No alcohol
Medium
Boozy
Strength 7/10
Sweet
Medium
Dry/sour
Sweet to sour 7/10
More cocktails with similar strength and taste profile

Review:

A floral riff on the classic Aviation.

View readers' comments

History:

Created in 2006 by yours truly in London, England.

More cocktails by Simon Difford

Nutrition:

One serving of Elder Aviator contains 201 calories

Alcohol content:

  • 1.6 standard drinks
  • 20.34% alc./vol. (20.34° proof)
  • 22.9 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.

Corpse Reviver No.2 (Duffy's/Gaige's recipe) Image
Previous cocktail

Corpse Reviver No.2 (Duffy's/Gaige's recipe)

Elk Martini Image
Next cocktail

Elk Martini

Join the discussion

Showing 10 comments for Elder Aviator.
See discussion in the Forum

Please log in to make a comment
Greg Martin’s Avatar Greg Martin
3rd January at 23:17
Excellent cocktail! Well balanced. Added 2.5ml of elderflower syrup to everything. Delicious!
1
reply
Chris Brislawn’s Avatar Chris Brislawn
1st August 2024 at 03:26
I thought the gin should play a supporting role behind the lemon and elderflower so I used the refined Citadelle gin rather than a more aromatic one. I had lots of lemon zest so I expressed and dropped 2 big zest strips into each drink. Wonderful marriage of flavors. A fine tribute to de Saint-Exupery.
1
reply
Tuber Magnatum’s Avatar Tuber Magnatum
26th January 2024 at 23:10
Excellent! I was concerned the Elderflower would over power, and as others have noted, the drink is perfectly balanced.
1
reply
Susan K’s Avatar Susan K
24th December 2023 at 00:35
Absolutely lovely and excellent balance. Used a local distillery's gin that is sassafras-forward, but look forward to trying this with other gins too.
1
reply
Michael Cronin’s Avatar Michael Cronin
31st July 2022 at 21:37
Made with Beefeater as my local State Liquor stores have been out of Plymouth the last two times I’ve been in. This was excellent! I don’t use my St Germain frequently so I was doubly happy.
1
reply
Florian Ruf’s Avatar Florian Ruf
4th April 2022 at 17:41
I am not convinced by this cocktail (sorry Simon). For my palate it is a little bland, but sorrily I have really no idea how to adjust it to my taste.
2
reply
Alasdair MacDonald’s Avatar Alasdair MacDonald
10th September 2021 at 17:29
Much like Letti before me I made this with Elderflower cordial,1/2 a shot (if you can find the purple leafed Elder the flowers make a pink cordial) and substituted the Maraschino for 1/2 a shot of Cointreau to try and balance the sweetness. 1/2 a shot of Lemon juice then brings the whole thing together and the pink cordial imparts just a hue of colour. Beautiful.
2
reply
letti pearce’s Avatar letti pearce
30th August 2021 at 16:51
Made this with some homemade elderflower liquor, very nice balance, liked the addition of the elderflower
1
reply
John Hinojos’ Avatar John Hinojos
10th August 2021 at 00:04
Really liked this. You have the savory from the gin, but the floral after taste. Very refreshing.
3
reply
simon kitchen’s Avatar simon kitchen
29th June 2020 at 16:23
This is a great twist on an Aviation, we enjoyed this.
2
reply
advert banner
Corpse Reviver No.2 (Duffy's/Gaige's recipe) Image
Previous cocktail

Corpse Reviver No.2 (Duffy's/Gaige's recipe)

For an equal-parts recipe, this Corpse Reviver variation is brilliantly balanced and delicious

Elk Martini Image
Next cocktail

Elk Martini

Craddock calls for this drink to be shaken, but in this instance, stirring seems more in order. I've also mixed to our preferred 5:1 stirred Dry Martini...

Some cocktails benefit from added water Image

Some cocktails benefit from added water

The size, and shape of the ice you use when mixing cocktails will affect the amount of dilution added when mixing. Large cubes in a cocktail shaker have...
20 best Amaretto cocktails Image

20 best Amaretto cocktails

The bittersweet almond and vanilla flavour of amaretto mixes brilliantly with dark spirits – particularly whiskey but this versatile liqueur also mixes...
20 best Easter cocktails Image

20 best Easter cocktails

There's more to Easter indulgence than mere chocolate eggs
How to make an Ice Cone Image

How to make an Ice Cone

Ice cones are an iconic garnish widely used in Tiki bars, particularly when serving Navy Grog cocktails. They are made by freezing crushed ice that has...
20 best Spring cocktails Image

20 best Spring cocktails

Spring has sprung – well at least it has here in the northern hemisphere. It's time to rediscover the delights of floral cocktails – think elderflower...