Bees Knees

Name: Bee’s Knees Cocktail Recipe
Total time: 7 min
Ingredients: Aviation American Gin; Lemon Juice; Honey Syrup; Lemon Twist Garnish

Gin

Prep time: 7 mins

Author: Gina Pace

A bottle of Aviation American Gin stands next to a cocktail in a coupe glass, surrounded by plates of salad and appetizers on a pink tablecloth.

The Bee’s Knees is a Prohibition-era cocktail, invented as a way to mask the taste of bathtub gin with honey and lemon. Today, it’s an excellent example of how high-quality ingredients can really make a cocktail shine. Using local or specialty varieties of honey in the syrup can add more to the depth and richness of the drink.

What you’ll need:

Ingredients:

Serves:

Aviation American Gin
1.5oz
Lemon Juice
0.75oz
Honey Syrup
0.75oz
Lemon Twist Garnish

Method

Step 1
Using a sharp knife and a cutting board, remove a long slice of lemon skin, leaving as little pith on the peel as possible. Gently curl into a twist and set aside
Step 2
Combine gin, lemon juice and honey syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice.
Step 3
Shake until combined and strain into a coupe glass.
Step 4
Twist the lemon peel over the drink to express the oils, then add as garnish.

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A popular Prohibition-era gin cocktail made with three simple ingredients.

A table set with cocktails, a platter of assorted vegetables, and a plate of smoked salmon on bread garnished with herbs.

In this recipe

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Honey Syrup

Ingredients

8 oz. Honey
4 oz. Hot Water

Directions

Pour honey and hot water into a mixing glass.
Stir continuously for 60 seconds until the honey is dissolved.
Pour into a container for storage, and label, date and refrigerate for later use. Good for 3 months. Yields 12 oz. of simple syrup.