Bee's Knees

Attributed to bartender Frank Meier at the Ritz Bar in Paris, circa 1921–1929, though the drink likely existed in similar form at speakeasies across the United States during Prohibition. The combination of honey and lemon with gin was a documented Prohibition-era technique for masking the chemical smell and harsh taste of illegally produced gin. The slang 'bee's knees' dates to the 1920s.

The Bee's Knees is the Prohibition era's most charming cocktail — gin, fresh lemon juice, and honey syrup in a sour that was originally designed to mask the smell and harshness of bathtub gin with local honey and citrus. 'The bee's knees' was 1920s American slang for the highest quality or the best of something, and the cocktail lives up to the name when made with quality ingredients: a floral gin, seasonal honey, and fresh-squeezed lemon create a drink of sophisticated elegance that requires no apology for its simple origins. The honey syrup (made with good honey rather than refined sugar) is the drink's defining element — clover, acacia, wildflower, and buckwheat honeys each produce a different Bee's Knees character.

FOOD PAIRING: The Bee's Knees's honey-lemon-gin florality pairs with light, floral, and honey-sweet preparations. Provenance 1000 pairings: burrata with honey and fresh thyme (the honey bridge is direct), ricotta toast with wildflower honey and lemon zest, goat cheese and fig tartlet (the honey complements the chèvre), lavender shortbread, and fresh fruit pavlova.