Four Calling Birds, a Twist on an Aviation Cocktail

For the “Four Calling Birds” bartender Hannah McKee of jazz bar Con Alma combined two of her favorite four-part drinks, the Aviation cocktail and the Paper Plane cocktail. The Aviation typically uses gin, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice and creme de violette. The Paper Plane, which grew out of that recipe, typically uses Amaro Nonino, Aperol, bourbon, and lemon juice. In Hannah’s recipe, she swapped out the Aperol and bourbon for the smoky flavor of mezcal. 

Four Calling Birds? Why Are There So Many Birds in “The Twelve Days of Christmas”? 

You might notice that in “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” there’s a little bit of an overkill of birds. Partridges? Turtle doves? Hens? Geese? Who actually wants this many birds? For this “Four Calling Birds” installment, the Aviation and the Paper Plane both call to mind taking flight. In the case of four calling birds, the line was most likely originally “colley” or “collie” birds, meaning black as coal. So, the four birds were probably crows, ravens, or blackbirds. But in the 1909 version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” Frederic Austin swapped out “colley” for “calling.” Why there are so many birds are in the song is unclear. But many of these birds would have been eaten by Europeans in the 1700s, when the song originated, so even if they didn’t pair it with this Aviation cocktail, it still represented togetherness and plenty.

Four Calling Birds, Twist on an Aviation Cocktail

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• Author: Hannah McKee

Print Recipe

Description

This Amaro, mezcal, and maraschino cocktail from Hannah McKee of jazz bar Con Alma takes flight.

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Ingredients

• .75 oz Granja Nomada mezcal
• .75 oz Amaro Nonino
• .5 oz Luxardo maraschino liqueur
• .75 oz lemon juice

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Instructions

1. This cocktail is shaken and served in a Nick and Nora glass with a long elegant manicured orange twist expressed over the glass and then “perched” on the side.

Check out the rest of our “Twelve Days of Christmas” cocktails or make the whole set!

Recipe by Hannah McKee of Con Alma
Styling by Anna Franklin
Photography by Laura Petrilla 

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