2 oz Gin
3⁄4 oz Fresh lemon juice
3⁄4 oz Honey syrup*
Lemon twist for garnish (optional)
Combine gin, lemon juice, and honey syrup together in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Shake until frosty and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist if desired.
*To make honey syrup, combine 2 parts honey and 1 part hot water and stir or shake to combine.
Interesting fact: The bee’s knees was likely invented during prohibition, with the strong flavors of honey and lemon juice meant to mask the flavor of poor quality bathtub gin.
At the time of the cocktail’s creation, the term “Bee’s Knees” meant something was great, or the best. Oddly enough, long before the phrase took on that meaning, it once meant something very very small, as in the size of a bee’s knee.