Comments on: DOTW: Blue Moon

By: Linnet

Linnet — Tue, 04 May 2010 15:13:32 +0000

Thank you so much for the recipe. I’ve loved floral liqueurs ever since St. Germain, and was dying to get my hands on Creme Yvette, but they don’t offer it in PA. Now that I have some Creme de Violette, I plan on making Blue Moons tonight. Cheers!

By: once in a blue moon « Culinaria Eugenius

once in a blue moon « Culinaria Eugenius — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 20:10:11 +0000

[...] Married with Dinner, one of my favorite food blogs, revisits the history of the Blue Moon, a lovely vintage cocktail now blasphemed with sugary, cheap blue curaçao. [...]

By: Jessamyn

Jessamyn — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:07:46 +0000

Beautiful! Ever since we got hold of some Violette I've been smitten by a very similar drink but with Lillet instead of lemon juice. I love the hint of violet with the gin and lemon flavors.

By: The Aviation Cocktail : Drink Dogma

The Aviation Cocktail : Drink Dogma — Tue, 06 May 2008 09:12:13 +0000

[...] So what does one do? It sounds as if the Aviation could be two different drinks entirely. The version without the Crème de Violette has been an accepted Aviation for years and years, but it seems like the original drink was indeed made with the flower liqueur. To add more confusion, there is also a related cocktail called the Blue Moon which leaves out the maraschino entirely, leaving the gin, lemon juice, and crème de violette (the original Blue Moon recipe called for crème yvette—a now-defunct liqueur containing violet flowers and possibly vanilla; crème de violette was often substituted). [...]

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 01:34:22 +0000

Last I heard, LeNells will move nearby in Red Hook – not close. Anyway that’s months away. I’d be more concerned about her current available supply of Red Hook Rye!

By: Anita

Anita — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 18:25:31 +0000

Kathy: I dunno about Eric, but I read it
I second the recommendation the Red Hook Rye, though.

Erik: Thanks for the clarification. I think I should have said “Many moons ago…” rather than “Originally…” (It would have been wittier, too.) Ted Haigh’s writeup in Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails references the Yvette, and I made the mistake of relying on that history rather than digging deeper on my own.

By: erik_flannestad

erik_flannestad — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 16:54:04 +0000

Oh, interesting.

So, Creme Yvette is closer to Parfait Amour than Creme de Violette? Or somewhere in between? Seems like the Hermes is in that style.

As far as I know, the original Aviation Cocktail recipe calls for Violette, not Creme Yvette.

This is the oldest recipe anyone has turned up, so far. It is from Hugo Ensslin’s 1916 book, “How to Mix Drinks”.

AVIATION COCKTAIL
1/3 Lemon Juice
2/3 El Bart Gin
2 dashes Maraschino
2 dashes Creme de Violette
Shake well in a mixing glass with cracked ice, strain and serve.

By: Kathy Ramsey

Kathy Ramsey — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 12:54:45 +0000

I’m wondering if Eric read the NYT article (8/11/07) about LeNell’s having to close next summer. She wants to relocate, but is very particular about where to do that.

By: Anita

Anita — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 22:46:02 +0000

Tea: thank you!

GG: See Eric’s note, below. Also Blackwell’s in San Francisco if you’re closer to the West Coast.

Eric: Thanks for the clarification on the Yvette. This will teach me to write posts the night before I put them on the site — leaving me zero time for fact-checking. I was so excited to get the word out about the new violette that I let my research lapse. Fifty lashes with a wet julep strainer…. and I know Erik from Underhill Lounge has a couple of clarifications, too, when he gets a chance to comment.

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 22:30:03 +0000

On the East Coast it’s easiest to phone and mail-order from LeNell’s in Brooklyn (also get her Red Hook Rye while at it).

Take note that the Yvette was actually never a Creme de Violette, but instead a floral-flavored liqueur with notes of vanilla and citrus. Some prefer the Violettes because the taste and aroma are from a natural floral infusion, others like the Yvette style for those other flavor notes.