Bee's Knees
Prohibition's honey trick
A honeyed, citrus-bright gin sour from the Prohibition era — gin, lemon, and honey, nothing else. Silky and refreshing with a floral sweetness that lingers. (The IBA spec adds a splash of orange juice; the recognized classic omits it.)
Ingredients
- 2 oz Gin
- 3/4 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1/2 oz Honey Syrup
Method
Add gin, fresh lemon juice, and honey syrup to a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously until well chilled. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist or edible flower.
Bee's Knees origin is contested. Frank Meier, head bartender at Hôtel Ritz Paris (1921–1947), is credited in the 1929 French publication Cocktails de Paris. A concurrent 1929 Standard Union newspaper article (April 22) attributes the drink to American socialite Margaret \"Molly\" Brown, who frequented Paris women-only bars. The cocktail emerged in Paris in the late 1920s, not America. Per IBA (New Era list); Difford's Guide #2144. Notes: the 1936 publication of Meier's The Artistry of Mixing Drinks is confirmed, but his specific reassertion of Bee's Knees authorship in that text requires independent verification. The \"masking poor gin quality\" narrative is interpretive lore, not documented fact. Margaret Brown versus Frank Meier attribution remains historically unresolved.
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