The Bees Knees
This is the ultimate store cupboard cocktail with just 3 easy to find ingredients. The original ratio is equal parts, but now that gin doesn’t need covered up I prefer to make it as a variation on a normal sour, with the gin being the star and the honey adding more warmth and complexity. If rum is more your thing, try substituting the gin for white rum to make a Honeysuckle, or dark rum to make a Honey Bee.
Ingredients
50ml (1 & 2/3oz) gin
20ml (2/3oz) honey water* (recipe below)
20ml (2/3oz) fresh lemon juice
Lemon twist to garnish
Good ice
Equipment
A coupe
A jigger
Shaker tins
A hawthorn strainer
A fine strainer
Honey Water
It is easiest to first make a honey water by adding add 1 part honey to 1 part hot water and dissolve (sit the honey jar in the hot water for a couple of minutes before measuring). This makes the honey much easier to measure and pour. Otherwise, just add 2 tsp directly to the shaker tins, but make sure you stir and dissolve all of the honey in the other ingredients before shaking, otherwise the ice will cause it to clump.
Method
Prepare your lemon twist.
Add all of the ingredients to your shaker tin. Fill shaker tin full with ice. Combine tins and shake hard until the tins become frosted.
Open tins and double strain (use the hawthorn strainer to hold the ice back in the tin and pour through the fine strainer) into a chilled coupe. Squeeze the lemon twist to expel the citrus oil over the drink then add to drink and enjoy!
Suggested Spirits
The great thing about this cocktail is that almost any gin will work, but we’ve gone for Plymouth as a slightly smoother variation on a classic London Dry.
Try to use decent quality honey, and you can experiment with different types as they will give different flavours.