I think those who know me know if I could my life would be violet tinted and scented. Purple is my favorite color and I have written extensively on my love of all fragrant products violet. There are days from my shower through to the clothes I am wearing where violet is the word for the day. There is one violet product I knew about but which had been extremely difficult to find until the last few years. It isn’t a fragrance or a piece of clothing it is a unique liqueur called Crème de Violette.
The resurgence of Prohibition Craft Cocktails has also resurrected some of the ingredients that went into those classic cocktails. Crème de Violette was a key ingredient to many of those libations. The source of Crème de Violette back then, as now, was the Austrian firm of Rothman & Winter. The care that goes into making it starts with harvesting two types of violets Queen Charlotte and March Violets and macerating them in a grape brandy called “Weinbrand” and then adding cane sugar to sweeten it. This produces deeply purple liqueur that adds a unique color to any drink it is added to. It also adds a wonderful scent of violet to whatever it is added to. Crème de Violette is not limited to using in cocktails if you want to add a hint of violet to cupcakes or macarons adding a few tablespoons will add an exotic twist to the most vanilla of recipes. I know of one baker who uses it in her violet macarons and garnishes it with candied violets.
The Aviation cocktail
For me I use it in the things I drink and here are a few suggestions if you want to add a bit of violet to your drinks. One of my favorite uses is to take one tablespoon of Crème de Violette and swirl it into a glass of lemonade and then take a teaspoon and carefully float it on top for Violet Lemonade, this is the perfect drink for me when I am wearing Tom Ford Violet Blonde. For those of you who like Kir Royales or Champagne Cocktails replace the Chambord/Kir or Brandy, respectively, with the Crème de Violette. You will get a vibrantly colored version as the sparkling wine seems to make it feel like liquid neon. The same goes for a classic martini if you, again, take a teaspoon and float it on top you have a Violet Aromatini. My companion scent for these is Atelier Cologne Sous le Toit de Paris. My favorite use of Crème de Violette is in the classic cocktail The Aviation, whose recipe is below:
1 ½ oz. Dry Gin
½ oz Crème de Violette
½ oz. Maraschino liqueur
½ oz. fresh lemon juice
Take all the ingredients and mix them over ice. Shake, strain and serve in a martini glass. Garnish with a lemon twist or a maraschino cherry.
You should end up with a lavender tinted concoction which looks, and smells, as good as it tastes. This particular cocktail has turned many people who told me they don’t like gin into gin drinkers. Depending on your taste there are two variations on The Aviation. In The Blue Moon the Maraschino liqueur is removed to make a tarter version. In The Moonlight Cointreau replaces the Maraschino liqueuer and lime juice replaces lemon juice. All of them are delicious. What do I wear when serving these drinks? Comme des Garcons + Stephen Jones, of course.
If you also like your world violet tinted go pick up a bottle of Rothamn & Winter Crème de Violette and see how you can add a little more violet to your life.
Disclosure: This is based on a bottle of Rothman & Winter Crème de Violette I purchased.
–Mark Behnke
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