Bee’s Knees
Gin, fresh lemon and honey syrup in fine balance — a Prohibition-era classic that still wins on flavour.
Ingredients
- Gin, preferably a London Dry or floral gin60 ml
- Lemon juice, freshly squeezed22 ml
- Honey syrup (3 parts Honey, 1 part Water)15 ml
- Lemon, for garnish (optional)1 twist
Method
- Fill a shaker with ice cubes.
- Add the gin, fresh lemon juice and honey syrup.
- Shake hard for 10–15 seconds, until the shaker is ice-cold on the outside.
- Strain, preferably double-strain, into a chilled coupe.
- Express a lemon peel over the drink to release the essential oils, then add it as a garnish.
About this drink
Bee’s Knees emerged during American Prohibition in the 1920s, when honey and lemon did more than add sweetness: they could disguise the taste of the era’s often rough homemade gin. The name was period slang for ‘the best’, a description the drink readily lives up to today. Its simple, clear recipe has made it a fixture of every classic cocktail book.
Questions and answers
Why use honey syrup rather than ordinary honey?
Pure honey dissolves poorly in cold lemon juice and settles in clumps at the bottom of the glass. Honey syrup, made with equal parts honey and water, mixes in smoothly at once; if you do not have syrup ready, you can warm the honey gently yourself.
Which gin suits a Bee’s Knees best?
A classic, juniper-forward London Dry stands up best to honey’s sweetness without being drowned by it. For a softer, more perfumed version, try a floral gin instead.
