The Bee's Knees recipe
for your table
Mix honey with a splash of warm water until it becomes a liquid syrup, then let it cool.
Shake gin, lemon juice and honey syrup with plenty of ice for 12 seconds.
Double strain into a chilled coupe.
Garnish with a thin strip of lemon zest.
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The story
The Bee's Knees originated during American Prohibition, when illegal 'bathtub gin' was often so harsh that something had to be done to make it drinkable. Honey and lemon proved the perfect disguise, as well as a golden combination. The recipe is attributed to Frank Meier, the Austrian bartender at the Ritz in Paris, who first published it in 1936. What began as a makeshift solution is now a staple on modern cocktail menus, especially as bartenders are once again working extensively with honey and local ingredients.
The right glass
With its honey-golden color, the Bee's Knees is a cocktail to show off, and a clear stemmed coupe is the perfect glass for it. A generous 26 to 30 cl model gives the drink room to breathe and turns every serving into a small occasion. Pair it with a golden garnish, lemon zest or even a little honeycomb, and the picture is complete. Prefer to serve it in a classic stemmed cocktail glass? Take a look at our cocktail glasses.
Luigi Bormioli Meravigliosi Champagne Glass / Coupe 30 cl (6 pieces)
RCR Timeless Champagne Glass / Coupe 26 cl (6 pieces)
Both sets together € 77,90.
The right tools
For a Bee's Knees, besides the glass, you'll need a shaker, a jigger for precise measuring, a fine strainer for double straining, a citrus squeezer, and a zester for the twist. These are the bar tools we use ourselves; you'll find them all in our bar tools & cocktail sets.
Glass set (our choice 01) + 5 bar tools together € 102,70.
Variations & twists
With rum instead of gin, it's called a Honeysuckle, and with bourbon, a Gold Rush. The honey-lemon formula works with almost any base spirit. Infuse the honey syrup with lavender, ginger, or thyme for a seasonal variation. In winter, it can also be served warm, like a toddy. Looking for more inspiration? Browse more than 100 cocktail recipes.
Serving tip
The flavor of the honey determines the cocktail: try floral or linden honey for a softer version, or chestnut honey for more character. Never use pure honey in the shaker. It clumps on ice.
Good to know
Making honey syrup: two parts to one
Pure honey clumps in a cold shaker into a strand that stays on the bottom, so dilution is not optional. Mix two parts honey with one part warm water and stir until everything has dissolved; one tablespoon of honey and half a tablespoon of water is enough for two cocktails. Let the syrup cool before using it, otherwise you'll warm the shaker. Sealed in a clean bottle in the refrigerator, it keeps for two to three weeks. It's better to make a little too much than too little, because it's also good in tea.
Which honey to use
The honey is both flavoring and sweetener here, so the choice matters. Mild floral honey or acacia honey lets the gin do the work and provides a clean, golden sweetness. Chestnut and buckwheat honey are much darker and more bitter and take over the cocktail; they pair better with whisky. Lavender or thyme honey works well if you're looking for something herbal, but stick to a neutral gin. Above all, avoid crystallized honey that you've heated aggressively, because above sixty degrees honey loses the aromas you chose it for.
Gold Rush and Honeysuckle
The same formula works with other base spirits. Replace the gin with 5 cl bourbon and you have a Gold Rush, invented at Milk and Honey in New York in 2001: rounder, warmer, and a good winter version. Swap the gin for white rum and it becomes a Honeysuckle, fresher and with a light molasses sweetness beneath the honey. With scotch, you get something close to a Penicillin. The ratio remains 5 cl of spirit, 2 cl lemon juice, and 2 cl honey syrup in every case, so you don't need to measure anything again.
Which gin goes well with honey
Because honey is soft and rounded, you want a gin that provides contrast. A classic London dry with assertive juniper does this best, and bottles around 44 percent ABV stand up better to 2 cl of syrup than lighter 37.5 percent versions. Spicy gins with coriander or angelica add an extra layer that pairs well with floral honey. Floral or sweet gins, especially pink fruit gins, can quickly make the whole drink sticky. With three ingredients, this cocktail is honest enough to put the gin on display, so choose a bottle you trust.
Bees Knees or Bee's Knees
You will come across both spellings. With an apostrophe, Bee's Knees follows the American expression the cocktail is named after; without an apostrophe, it is Bees Knees, which is how most people type it. The Bees Knees with an article refers to that same expression from the 1920s. For the Bees Knees cocktail itself, it makes no difference: it remains five centiliters of gin with two centiliters of lemon juice and two centiliters of honey syrup. Those two equal parts are the essence, so taste the syrup when using honey that is sweeter or darker than you are used to.
Shaking four glasses at once
For four guests, mix 20 cl gin, 8 cl fresh lemon juice, and 8 cl honey syrup in advance in a bottle; that's simply the recipe multiplied by four. Then shake two glasses at a time, because an overfilled shaker cools less effectively and the ice melts unevenly. Juice the lemons shortly beforehand, as fresh juice starts to taste noticeably flatter after an hour. Meanwhile, place the coupes in the freezer or fill them with ice water. Double-strain each round to keep ice shards and pulp out and preserve the cocktail's clear golden-yellow color.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Bee's Knees made of?
A Bee's Knees consists of 5 cl gin, 2 cl fresh lemon juice, and 2 cl honey syrup, shaken with plenty of ice and garnished with a thin lemon zest. Three ingredients, that's all. Make the honey syrup with two parts honey and one part warm water.
How do you make honey syrup for a Bee's Knees?
Mix two parts honey with one part warm water and stir until everything has dissolved, then let the syrup cool. Pure honey will clump in a cold shaker, so this step is not optional. Sealed and refrigerated, the syrup will keep for several weeks.
Where does the name Bee's Knees come from?
'The bee's knees' was American slang in the 1920s for 'the absolute best'. The cocktail originated during Prohibition, when honey and lemon made rough illicit gin drinkable. Frank Meier, bartender at the Ritz in Paris, published the recipe in 1936.
Which glass do you use for a Bee's Knees?
A coupe glass with a capacity of 26 to 30 cl does this cocktail the most justice. Its honey-gold color looks best in clear stemmed glass, while the wide bowl gives the citrus and honey aromas room to shine. See our champagne coupe glasses.
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