I was inspired to find some new uses for my creme de violette from a Reddit post, appropriately titled: “Thanks to you assholes I have a full bottle of crème de violette. What can I use it for besides Aviations?” It occurred to me in reading that I’d never done anything with Violette other than the Aviation, so I scoured the thread and came across the Attention cocktail.

The original formulation was first published by Hugo Ensslin in the Recipes for Mixed Drinks, 1917 addition. It used equal proportions. Which sounds vile. If you’ve ever tried violette on its own (which happens surprisingly a lot with our house guests because it looks and sounds like it would be delicious) you’ll know that it’s syrupy, sweet, and quite stomach-turning. The original might have been lost to time were it not for the Atty, created by Harry Craddock in 1930. The Atty features a much more reasonable 1/8 oz of Absinthe and 1/8 oz of Violette. It sips like a complex herbal martini.

On reddit, MsMargo referenced a new formulation of the classic by Jamie Boudreau on Imbibe. The attention is essentially a martini with dry vermouth, orange bitters, a splash of Violette, and a barspoon of absinthe. I’m hoping to experiment with it soon.

Ingredients

2 oz Gin (Martin Miller’s)

.25 oz Dry Vermouth (Nolin)

.25 oz Créme de Violette

.25 oz Absinthe

2 Dashes Orange Bitters

Lemon Twist for Garnish

Glass

Cocktail Glass

Instructions