Many of the drinks that are still beloved in bars today are cocktails from the Prohibition Era, when bars went underground and got creative with the ingredients they had available to make drinks that were tasty and innovative. That was a challenge when many of the spirits available were of dubious quality at best, but it created delicious combinations like the Bee’s Knees cocktail, an easy-to-enjoy gin classic.
Now, the mix of citrus and honey sweetness acts as a good introduction for people who have only previously said, “I don’t like gin.” (If you are one of those people, we’d like to take this opportunity to convince you otherwise … we’re not in bathtub gin territory anymore.) The floral and citrus notes in the gin blend with the other ingredients for an easy-to-drink cocktail that now allows the craft gin to come through without being hidden away.
Now, the drink truly epitomizes its name, which was used during the time to mean the best of the best. And if you can say the name without acting like a Flapper, more power to you.
Bee’s Knees cocktail recipe
The Bee’s Knees cocktail is fairly simple to make. Not surprisingly, considering the name, it features honey as one of the ingredients; after all, you can’t get honey without bees.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces gin
- 3/4 ounce lemon juice
- 3/4 ounce honey syrup
- Lemon peel, for garnish
Method
- Add ice to a shaker glass.
- Add the ingredients to the shaker glass.
- Shake well.
- Strain into a coupe glass.
- Garnish with a lemon peel.
What’s the difference between Bees Knee’s and gin sour?
The eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that this recipe is very similar to another classic gin drink, the gin sour. That cocktail also uses gin and lemon juice, but is made with simple syrup rather than honey. So what’s the difference? While it is subtle, the sweetness that comes from the white sugar in simple syrup is more of a pure, unflavored sweetness. The honey in a Bee’s Knees adds sweetness but also a hint of rich molasses and even a little bit of floral or spice.
How much difference this makes to the drink depends on what kind of honey you use. While many commercial honeys have a fairly blandly sweet taste, there are specialty honeys that have very deep and rich flavors that can really elevate the drink. If you can find some locally produced honey at a farmers market, for example, that will add a lovely and distinct note to your drink.
Even if you’re just working with regular old supermarket honey; however, the complexity of the flavors really adds to the drink and plays particularly well with the lemon and gin. So if you do have some honey on hand, give it a try to upgrade your gin sour to a Bee’s Knees.
Jamaican Honey Bee cocktail recipe
If you like the sound of the Bee’s Knees cocktail, but gin isn’t your thing, don’t worry, like most classic cocktails, there are a number of variations to allow you to use your favorite spirit (or whatever you have on hand). One example of this is the Jamaican Honey Bee cocktail, which swaps out the gin for Jamaican rum.
(Recipe from CocktailsDistilled.com)
Ingredients
- 2 ounces Jamaican rum
- 1/2 ounce lemon juice (freshly squeezed is preferred)
- 1/2 ounce honey syrup
Method
- Combine all the ingredients into a mixing glass.
- Fill the mixing glass three-quarters full with ice cubes.
- Cover the glass with a shaking tin and shake vigorously for 15 seconds.
- Using both a cocktail strainer and a fine-mesh strainer at the same time and double strain the mixture into a cocktail glass and serve.
