Bees Knees

Let me tell you ‘bout the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees and moon up above, and a thing called love….

A Bee’s Knees might be the first cocktail I ever fell in love with! A little tavern in Dover, New Hampshire called Sonny’s serves up some pretty amazing cocktails but the first one I ever loved was a Bee’s Knees with local fresh honey, lavender bitters, and served with a Luxardo Maraschino Cherry in the bottom to create a beautiful gradient.

I posted this Bee’s Knees as a part of my The Long and The Short of It series, featuring recipes from the 1934 cocktail book from the American Distilling Co. featuring delightful illustrations from Russell Patterson! Keep reading to find the original recipe from the 1934 book!

Recipe:

• One Jigger Old Colony Dry Gin

• 1/2 Jigger Lemon Juice

• One Teaspoonful strained honey

Shake well with NO ICE, as ice congeals honey. Pour over shaved ice in a cocktail glass.

As you can probably tell from my images I strayed a bit from the original recipe, and I encourage you to do the same and add your own variations (like adding a splash of lavender syrup, or grapefruit juice) to see what you can come up with! To accentuate the honey flavor even further, I used Vermont distillery Caledonia Spirits, Bar Hill Gin that has honey distilled directly into it and is absolutely delicious! It’s also America’s most awarded gin with 39 awards and definitely worth every penny!

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Bar Hill Gin

• 1 oz honey Syrup

• 1 oz lemon juice

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled coupe. Tiny bee hive ice cube is optional but encouraged!