Bee’s Knees Cocktail – A Beautiful Mess

The Bee’s Knees Cocktail is a Prohibition-era drink made with gin, honey syrup and lemon juice. With only three ingredients and a prep time of mere minutes, this cocktail is perfect for a party! The combination of honey, citrus and gin is absolutely delicious. 

Learning to make classic cocktails is so much fun! This is an excellent recipe to add to your home cocktail menu.

More cocktail recipes: Cosmopolitan, Espresso Martini, Negroni, White Russian, Appletini, Manhattan

Ingredients

• Gin – Choose between a dry gin (such as Tanqueray or Beefeater) or a floral gin (such as Hendricks). 
• Honey Syrup – Choose a mild honey made from clover or wildflower. To make honey syrup simply heat equal parts honey and water on the stovetop until fully dissolved. For more detail, here’s our honey syrup recipe.
• Lemon Juice – Freshly squeezed lemon juice is a must for this recipe.

The best glassware to serve your cocktail in is a coupe glass. Bonus points if you use a chilled cocktail glass!

Instructions

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, mix gin, lemon juice and honey syrup. Shake for 10-15 seconds until icy cold. 

Strain into a coupe glass (extra credit points if you chill the glass in advance). 

Garnish with a lemon twist.

What does a Bee’s Knees taste like?

A Bee’s Knees is a twist on the classic gin sour. The addition of honey (rather than sugar) creates a more smooth and richly flavored drink. For those who prefer to mask the taste of gin, the honey achieves that goal.

History

The Bee’s Knees was created by Austrian-born bartender Frank Meier at the Hôtel Ritz Paris in the 1920s. The drink was created as a spinoff of the Gin Sour cocktail that better masks the flavor of gin. In the 1920s, bathtub gin was common. Since quality gin wasn’t often available, a drink to mask the flavor was a desirable innovation and the drink spread quickly beyond the Hotel Ritz. 

The Bee’s Knees gets its name from a popular slang phrase from the era, meaning excellent, outstanding or much liked. It is said that flappers in the 1920s considered almost anything they approved was “the bee’s knees.”

In years since, a huge variety of quality gin has become available at an affordable price, so it’s easier than ever to mix a high-end Bee’s Knees cocktail at home.

Variations

• Orange Blossom – Try using orange blossom honey for a unique and flavorful variation.
• Tom Collins – If you pour this cocktail over ice and top with club soda, you will have a honey version of the classic Tom Collins.
• French 75 – Divide one drink between two champagne glasses and top with champagne and you will have a French 75.
• For a sweeter variation, add a sugared rim to your cocktail.

Tips for Making

• It may seem an unnecessary extra step to make honey syrup and you may feel tempted to skip the step. Honey does not mix well into cocktails and can be clumpy, or not completely mix into the drink. Making the syrup is worth the extra step!
• If you love this drink, experiment with different types of gin to find your top favorite. The natural flavors of gin can change the overall flavor of this drink considerably.
• Serve in a chilled glass.

Serving Suggestions

FAQ