Key West can boast a lot of claims to fame. It’s nicely often called the inspiration for Jimmy Buffett’s “trop rock” classics, the previous residence of Ernest Hemingway, and the place the place Key lime pie was created. However most individuals aren’t conscious of one other vital distinction: in 1927, the island was the birthplace of one-time aviation large Pan American Airways.
An organization referred to as Aeromarine Airways preceded Pan Am by seven years, launching America’s first official worldwide airmail service by piloting plane referred to as “flying boats” between Key West and Havana. Nonetheless, it ceased operation in 1924.
That’s when the embryonic Pan Am stepped in, led by a person named Juan Trippe — who had a letter guaranteeing him airplane touchdown rights in Cuba. By Oct. 11, 1927, he additionally had a contract with the U.S. Submit Workplace to ship mail between Key West and Havana.
Sadly, there was an issue. The contract required the primary load of letters to be delivered by Oct. 19 — and regardless of being ordered 18 months earlier, Pan Am’s planes hadn’t arrived in Key West.
Fortunately, a seaplane pilot named Cy Caldwell was persuaded to make the flight on behalf of the airline. Simply after 8 a.m. on Oct. 19, he left the island carrying 30,000 letters. Touchdown in Havana a short while later, he secured each the contract and Key West’s place in aviation historical past.
Cocktail followers can honor Pan Am’s heritage, and its birthplace, on the Key West Cooking College’s Bar 1 — by sampling a specialty concoction dubbed the Pan-Am Aviation.
Colourful and distinctive, the gin-based providing is praised for its distinctive floral style with a touch of tartness. Along with gin, it options maraschino liqueur, lemon juice and a small quantity of crème de violette — a liqueur that dates again to the 1800s and infuses the drink with delicate notes of violet and a fragile lavender hue.
In addition to a favourite of shoppers at Bar 1, positioned inside the Key West Cooking College at 291 Entrance St., the Pan-Am Aviation is a showstopper in the course of the bar’s mixology class titled “Key West Historical past by way of Craft Cocktails.”
Provided Tuesday by way of Saturday, the lessons mix demonstrations by a bartender-storyteller, hands-on cocktail-crafting observe, an opportunity to pattern a number of specialty drinks, and intriguing tales and tidbits about Key West’s “spirited” historical past.
Every class is proscribed to a small variety of cocktail connoisseurs to make sure private consideration and an unforgettable expertise; reservations are required and will be made by calling 305-294-2665.
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Drink of the month: Lavender Haze. The Pan-Am Aviation isn’t the one purple-hued cocktail at Bar 1. The Lavender Haze blends gin, crème de violette, orange liqueur, lemon juice,and an egg white — leading to a fruity, floral drink that’s a refreshing selection when summer time temperatures climb in Key West.
Useful bar hack: With its intriguing lavender colour, the Pan-Am Aviation is kind of a particular libation. To make it much more memorable, whereas complementing the floral style and including an unparalleled class, float a velvety purple pansy blossom within the glass.
Thirsty for extra? Go to keywestcookingschool.com.