Bee’s Knees

About the Bee’s Knees

Bright, honeyed, and citrus forward, the Bee’s Knees is a simple three ingredient gin sour built on Timber Creek Florida Gin, honey syrup, and fresh lemon juice, and its simplicity is exactly the point. With only three ingredients, there’s nowhere for a weak spirit to hide, and that’s where Timber Creek Florida Gin earns its place in the recipe. Distilled and aged as part of the distillery’s grain to glass process on its Crestview farm, the gin brings a rounded botanical character that holds up against the honey’s sweetness rather than getting drowned out by it, while the lemon juice keeps the whole drink from tipping into dessert territory.

It’s a format that rewards a gin with real depth, and this one delivers it. To build it, shake the gin, honey syrup, and lemon juice hard with ice until well chilled, then strain into a chilled coupe glass. The vigorous shake matters here, since it’s what gives the drink its light, slightly frothy texture on top.

Popularly said to date back to Prohibition, when honey was used to mask the rougher edges of bathtub gin [VERIFY: origin story and exact era attribution], the Bee’s Knees has aged into a genuine classic that suits almost any occasion. The suggested pairings of fried chicken, goat cheese, and lemon tart all play well against the drink’s honeyed citrus profile, and roasted carrots add an unexpectedly good earthy counterpoint. It also works nicely as a warm weather patio drink, since its bright citrus keeps it feeling light even on a hot afternoon.

It’s an easy drink to enjoy more than one of, given how approachable it tastes, so keep track of your pace, drink water between rounds, and make sure you have a plan for getting home safely at the end of the night. Simple as the recipe is, it still deserves the same attentiveness as any other full strength cocktail.

Bright, honeyed, and citrus forward, the Bee’s Knees is a simple three ingredient gin sour built on Timber Creek Florida Gin, honey syrup, and fresh lemon juice, and its simplicity is exactly the point. With only three ingredients, there’s nowhere for a weak spirit to hide, and that’s where Timber Creek Florida Gin earns its place in the recipe. Distilled and aged as part of the distillery’s grain to glass process on its Crestview farm, the gin brings a rounded botanical character that holds up against the honey’s sweetness rather than getting drowned out by it, while the lemon juice keeps the whole drink from tipping into dessert territory.

It’s a format that rewards a gin with real depth, and this one delivers it. To build it, shake the gin, honey syrup, and lemon juice hard with ice until well chilled, then strain into a chilled coupe glass. The vigorous shake matters here, since it’s what gives the drink its light, slightly frothy texture on top.

Popularly said to date back to Prohibition, when honey was used to mask the rougher edges of bathtub gin [VERIFY: origin story and exact era attribution], the Bee’s Knees has aged into a genuine classic that suits almost any occasion. The suggested pairings of fried chicken, goat cheese, and lemon tart all play well against the drink’s honeyed citrus profile, and roasted carrots add an unexpectedly good earthy counterpoint. It also works nicely as a warm weather patio drink, since its bright citrus keeps it feeling light even on a hot afternoon.

It’s an easy drink to enjoy more than one of, given how approachable it tastes, so keep track of your pace, drink water between rounds, and make sure you have a plan for getting home safely at the end of the night. Simple as the recipe is, it still deserves the same attentiveness as any other full strength cocktail.