The Bee's Knees is a bootlegger cocktail from Paris (Hotel Ritz), 1920s. Built on london dry gin, served in a coupe, around 24% ABV. Honey was used during American Prohibition (1920–1933) to mask the harsh taste of bathtub gin. The Bee's Knees survived the 18th Amendment by being the kindest disguise for the worst booze.
What goes in a Bee's Knees?
- ·2 oz gin
- ·3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
- ·3/4 oz honey syrup (2:1 honey to water, warmed)
- ·Lemon twist
How do you make a Bee's Knees?
- Stir the honey with warm water until it pours like syrup.
- Add gin, lemon juice, and honey syrup to a shaker with ice.
- Shake hard until very cold.
- Double-strain into a chilled coupe.
- Express a lemon twist and drop it in.
What should you know before making a Bee's Knees?
- Warm the honey with hot water in a 2:1 ratio. Cold honey will not incorporate; the drink will be unbalanced.
- Use a floral honey (orange blossom, wildflower) not commodity clover honey. The honey is the flavor, not the sweetener.
- The drink should pour bright gold, not opaque. If your Bee's Knees looks cloudy, your honey syrup is too cold.
Where did the Bee's Knees come from?
Honey was used during American Prohibition (1920–1933) to mask the harsh taste of bathtub gin. The Bee's Knees survived the 18th Amendment by being the kindest disguise for the worst booze. Frank Meier at the Hotel Ritz in Paris is credited with the recipe in his 1936 book The Artistry of Mixing Drinks, but the drink was being poured in Paris speakeasies by 1921. Today the gin is the point and the honey amplifies it.
According to Frank Meier, Hotel Ritz Paris, c. 1921.
What cocktails are similar to a Bee's Knees?
Common questions.
What is a Bee's Knees cocktail?
A Prohibition-era gin sour built on honey instead of sugar. Two ounces of gin, three-quarters of an ounce each of fresh lemon juice and honey syrup, shaken cold.
Why was honey used in Prohibition cocktails?
Honey masked the harsh taste of homemade bathtub gin. The same trick is why Prohibition cocktails skewed sweeter and more citrus-forward than pre-Prohibition recipes.
How do you make honey syrup for cocktails?
Stir two parts honey with one part hot water until fully dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate up to two weeks.
What does Bee's Knees mean?
1920s American slang for 'the best.' The phrase predates the cocktail. The drink got the name because it was that good of a disguise.