Back when I made an Aviation cocktail, I bought a bottle of crème de violette, since that’s a core ingredient of that cocktail. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like any other common cocktails used that liqueur, so I had basically only used a quarter of an ounce out of the whole bottle, just for that one cocktail.
Well, that seemed like a total waste of good liquor, so I went in search of some cocktails involving this violet-flavored liqueur. Thanks to the magic of the internet, I managed to find some interesting ones.
First up, the Violet Fizz.
Violet Fizz
1.5 oz gin
1 oz lemon juice
0.5 oz crème de violette
0.25 oz simple syrup
soda
lemon twist
This had a nice violet flavor to it, but it wasn’t as sweet as I would’ve liked. Fortunately, the lemon juice and soda covered up the taste of gin, which I’m not a fan of. I think if I made this again, I would add a bit more syrup. Or maybe replace the regular soda with Sprite or another sweetened carbonated drink.
The next drink is a Blue Moon, which has nothing to do with the beer.
Blue Moon
2 oz gin
0.5 oz lemon juice
0.5 oz crème de violette
lemon twist
This cocktail definitely tasted like gin, with a hint of a floral flavor from the crème de violette. I personally would’ve preferred more sweetness, and less of the gin taste. Maybe some simple syrup, and a little less gin, would’ve been an improvement. Actually, that’s probably true of most drinks involving gin and syrup, at least for me.
Finally, the Boulevard, where St-Germain made an appearance.
Boulevard
1.75 oz vodka
0.5 oz St-Germain
0.75 oz lime juice
0.75 oz agave nectar
0.75 oz crème de violette
lime twist
The original recipe had orange-flavored vodka, but I didn’t have any on hand, so I just used regular vodka, and it turned out just fine. I was also supposed to pour the crème de violette in gently so it sinks to the bottom, but apparently I didn’t do that correctly, so it turned this nasty sewage-like color. Oh well. It still tasted good. It had a nice, floral sweetness from the elderflower and violet, and the tartness from the lime juice cut through the sweetness. It was actually perhaps a bit too sweet, even for me. Maybe I would cut back a bit on the agave nectar.
I’m glad I found some cocktails using the elusive crème de violette, but if you’ll notice, the three recipes above use up less than 2 ounces total of the liqueur. Guess I’ll have to go find some more recipes…