History of the Bees Knees Cocktail

The Bees Knees is a delicious, sweet, sometimes citrus-y cocktail with - surprise, surprise - murky origins. However like all great cocktails, each entry in the history of the Bees Knees lends colourful lore to a brilliant drink.

One story insists it was created by Frank Meier, head bartender at the Cafe Parisian at the Ritz Hotel in Paris. This story perseveres due to Meier - he invented many cocktails at the Ritz, while simultaneously helping with the French Resistance: "he passed fake IDs to the hotel's Jewish clients, and is believed to have served as a kind of messenger for Nazi officers who planned to assassinate Hitler." (As found in this vice article). It would make sense, then, that such a brilliant creative as Meier could have invented the Bees Knees in his spare time (Which is *truly* iconic).

However there are other cool stories regarding this drink. One says that "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" (earning her nickname for surviving the Titanic disaster) came up with it at women-only bars in Paris - this was corroborated in a story from the April 1929 issue of the Brooklyn Standard Union, and shared here on traveldistilled.com.

However, a more prevalent story was that the Bees Knees was a prohibition era cocktail from the United States of America. Lemon juice and honey syrup were used to "mask the flavour of cheap bathtub gin". One theory is that, though the cocktail was invented in the US, Mrs. Brown may have brought it to Paris.

For such a simple, almost dessert-like cocktail, the history runs deep. What do you say we take a deep sip of that lore today by making our own, with a floral twist (These bees have got to pollinate, after all.)

Lavender as a flavour

Cooking with flowers or floral elements is not new, but it is definitely trendy these days, especially regarding lattes, teas, and cocktails. Perhaps you have tried to use some in your cooking, but run afoul of the one downfall in using any old lavender. Sure, the smell may have been there, but perhaps it brought an unpalatable flavour of soap to everything, ruining your beverage. We are here to help!

First things first, this is not a case of "any lavender will do". You want to use high quality lavender specifically chosen for cooking. Per Chala June in her article for Bon Appetit:

Though most lavender is technically safe to eat, culinary lavender is typically cultivated from Lavandula angustifolia plants (commonly known in English as "true lavender") and has a lot less oil than the aromatic lavender used in perfumes and soaps.

The good news is, you can easily purchase edible lavender online, sometimes in surprisingly large packs for not too much money. Whatever size you buy, the package should last you a while - when it comes to lavender, less is always more, and you rarely have to worry about putting too little in.

As always, the best way to learn what works for you is to try, maybe fail, learn from that, and try again. The process is part of the joy of cooking, and we hope you embrace a bit of flower power in your recipes.

How to make it

Syrup

Start by adding water to a sauce pan, bringing that to a boil, then adding honey and lavender to begin making a syrup.

Simmer this for 10 minutes, then strain out the solids. Let the syrup cool before proceeding.

Mix and serve

Add the gin, lemon juice, syrup, and ice to a cocktail shaker, and shake until chilled.

Pour this through a strainer into a chilled coupe.

Garnish with a lemon peel to finish, and enjoy!