Cooking Lesson #369: The Bee’s Knees Cocktail

…from the Happy Hour Bar

How you doin’? When I think about all the restrictions we have been living with for the last year and a half it makes me think back to the stories I heard about the success of Prohibition and bootleg hootch. This week’s featured “house” drink is a Prohibition-era cocktail that’s made with gin, lemon juice and honey simple syrup. The unique name is a convention of the time: The phrase “bee’s knees” was popular slang used to call something excellent or outstanding (she is the bee’s knees; meaning the flapper was a knockout).
 
The Bee’s Knees is one up of the classic Gin Sour--gin, lemon, sugar-- that features honey instead of sugar. The honey creates a richer drink, and it may have been employed to mask the taste of the rotgut, bathwater gin of the time.
 
Today you are not at the mercy of Al Capone, Joe Kennedy and their bootleggers as the gin market offers many excellent options allowing you to legally enjoy the ingredients at their best. Using a good English Dry gin will put more emphasis on the juniper, while a more modern gin infused with citrus and floral notes will bring out the lemon and honey notes of the cocktail. I’m a Hendrick’s kind of guy, but you can pick whichever gin pickles your tink. The gin flavor is forward as the featured ingredient.
 
Make the Bee’s Knees whenever you want to enjoy an easy, refreshing, any season cocktail. Given that it only has three ingredients, the Bee’s Knees is a good option for parties and other occasions that call for serving a crowd. With a bottle of gin along with a batch of honey syrup and lots of lemons, you can quickly shake up drinks for all your adoring guests.
 
Prep time:  3 minutes
Yield: Makes:  1 cocktail
 
Ingredients
 
2-1/2 ounces gin (I prefer Hendrick’s)
3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 ounce simple honey syrup (50/50 water/honey)
Ice for shaker
Garnish: lemon twist
 
Directions

1. Pour the measure of gin, lemon juice and honey syrup into a shaker with ice and shake it, like you mean, it until well-chilled.
2. Strain into a chilled cocktail or martini glass.
3. Garnish with a lemon twist.

ChefSecret:  The simple syrup honey is a combination of honey and water that adds complexity, viscosity and sweetness to the cocktail. Lemon juice complements that sweetness with fresh, tart acidity that makes for the perfect balance of flavors.

Quip of the Day: “Why don’t they pass a constitutional amendment prohibiting anybody from learning anything? If it works as well as prohibition did, in five years Americans would be the smartest people on Earth.”
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to ed@perspectives-la.com. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide. 
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong and positive, stay well and safe and be kind to others. If you have a little extra in your pockets to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading.
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                                       ©Perspectives/The Consulting Group, Inc., 2021

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