Bee’s Knees Cocktail with Gin, Lemon and Honey

Make a Bee’s Knees cocktail with 2 ounces of gin, 3/4 ounce of fresh lemon juice and 1/2 ounce of honey syrup. Shake with ice, then strain into a chilled glass. The lemon gives it a tart edge, while honey rounds it out. Three ingredients, one shaker.

To make a Bee’s Knees, you’ll need a dry gin, fresh lemon juice, and honey syrup. And since the star of this drink is the honey syrup, I think the cute name for this fun cocktail is fitting!

What You’ll Need to Make the Bee’s Knees:

• Dry gin
• Lemon juice
• Honey Syrup

How to Make the Bee’s Knees Cocktail:

Step One:

• Add the gin, lemon juice, and honey syrup into a shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and combined.

Step Two:

• Strain the drink into a chilled cocktail glass.

What is Honey Syrup?

Honey syrup is simply the combination of honey and water that is used in cocktails and other drinks. Since honey doesn’t respond well to cold, it needs to be thinned to prevent it from clumping and hardening in your drink. You can purchase pre-made honey syrup, but it’s simple to make at home if you don’t have any on hand.

To make your own honey syrup, simply combine equal parts honey and water. Combine the two ingredients and heat them in the microwave for 30 seconds. Or put the water and honey in a small saucepan and heat them over medium low heat. After the honey has melted, whisk the ingredients together until smooth.

Let the honey syrup cool before mixing your drink. Keep any extra syrup in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Make a batch of Bee’s Knees cocktails

For eight cocktails, multiply the recipe by eight: 16 ounces of gin, 6 ounces of fresh lemon juice and 4 ounces of honey syrup. Stir those ingredients together and keep the mixture refrigerated until you’re ready to serve.

Leave the ice out of the pitcher. Shake one serving at a time with ice, then strain into a chilled glass, following the recipe below. You can prep the ingredients without losing the chill of a freshly shaken cocktail.

History of the Bee’s Knees

The Bee’s Knees is a Prohibition-era cocktail built around gin, lemon and honey. Honey syrup sweetens this variation on a gin sour. Serve it shaken and chilled.

Bee’s Knees Cocktail Variations

Since this cocktail recipe is so simple, there are a variety of ways to change it up to suit your tastes. Try one of these easy variations to change up the basic recipe.

• Add some club soda. Create a variation of a Tom Collins by adding some club soda to your cocktail. Make the cocktail as written, but pour the drink into a highball glass over ice. Top the drink with some club soda, then give it a stir for a fizzy and refreshing cocktail.
• Replace gin with vodka. If you’re not a fan of gin, try mixing the lemon juice and honey syrup with vodka instead. The drink will have a slightly different taste, but is still a refreshing citrus beverage.
• To sweeten the drink, add more syrup. Give your Bee’s Knees a sweeter finish by increasing the amount of honey syrup in your cocktail. Add a small amount of extra syrup if you like your drinks on the sweeter side.
• Top it with champagne. Another fun way to add some fizz to your Bee’s Knees is with champagne. Divide one drink between two champagne flutes and top it off with champagne or sparkling wine.

Add some florals. Floral flavors pair perfectly with gin and lemon, making them a great option for adding more flavor to your cocktail.

Try mixing in a couple of drops of rose water or Elderflower liqueur to the drink before you shake it. Lavender is another great option for mixing in a floral element. Infuse your honey syrup with lavender or add a dash of lavender bitters. Our guide to flavored simple syrups has more ideas for experimenting with cocktail flavors.

Other Easy Cocktail Recipes to Try:

• Blueberry Buck Cocktail
• Scarlett O’Hara Cocktail Punch
• Lemon and Fig Rum Cocktail
• My Mary Pickford cocktail is another Prohibition era classic worth trying, rum, pineapple, and grenadine shaken together into something truly gorgeous
• My Absinthe Cocktail is another Prohibition era classic worth exploring, Death in the Afternoon brings absinthe and Champagne together in a way that sounds daring but drinks beautifully.

Or check out our compilation of the best 18 Recipes to Mix at Home here to know what other cocktail recipes you can dish out!

Make The Bee’s Knees Cocktail

Since honey does so much work in this drink, this guide to the benefits of honey is a helpful one to save for more sweet recipe ideas.