The Bee’s Knees

It was the winter of 2020, and I held my new Christmas present, the late Sasha Petraske’s book, Regarding Cocktails. I flipped through the pages and found a recipe that looked interesting, and I happened to have everything on hand for it. The Bee’s Knees, a Prohibition era cocktail that calls for just 3 simple ingredients, gin, lemon juice and honey syrup. I mixed up a couple and sat down with my husband on the couch to sip them.

As we sat together talking, an idea came to me. It wasn’t novel but it was fun. I’m sure many have done it before, but I never considered it. What if I slowly made every drink in the book? The Bee’s Knees in that instant became a “Proust effect” moment. The term might be new to you, but I bet the experience surely is not. It is the psychological and neurological phenomenon when a smell or taste triggers a vivid and often intense memory.

One sip of a Bee’s Knees and it’s winter in Tennessee, all my kids are fast asleep and my husband and I are laughing on the couch together. We sat there discussing what a fun idea it might be to try each recipe in the book over the next year.

And so, it began. I wrote a check mark next to the Bee’s Knees page, added in some tasting notes of what we each thought of it and a little star next to the drink name to indicate it was worth repeating.

The months passed and we made various drinks from the book, checking them off and writing our notes along the way. What we liked or didn’t like, things we would do differently or maybe what event or season that drink might be good for. When friends came to visit, we would make a batch of something to all share, and found so many of our friends loved being a part of the process with us.

We systematically worked through all the recipes that used spirits we already had stocked. Then we would add in a new bottle to make all the recipes that called for that new spirit. By the end of the book, we had an incredibly interesting and diverse bottle collection. It was surprising how much the experience broadened our horizons to spirits and bitters we had never even heard of let alone had considered trying. Recipes we had avoided, like a cucumber-filled cocktail that is topped with salt and pepper sounded terrible (neither my husband or I especially love cucumbers) but ended up being one of our favorite drinks to this day.

This adventure really pushed us to try new things and expand our pallets. While we may not continue making every drink in that book, the memories of the process will stay with us forever. The book filled with all of our notes changed from a simple recipe book to a meaningful keepsake. It wasn’t just about the drinks, but about the joy we found in making new memories together.

I would encourage everyone to find a book, a cocktail book, a mocktail book, a cookbook, a book filled with just cookie recipes… whatever appeals to you and try it all. Take the time to work through the entire book, make recipes with friends, your spouse, your children or alone – make notes and make memories.

My Book Suggestions:

• Regarding Cocktails – Sasha Petraske
• The Essential Cocktail – Dale Degroff
• Around the World in 80 Cocktails – Chad Parkhill
• Smugglers Cove – Martin Cate with Rebecca Cate (a great option for Rum lovers)
• How to Cocktail: Recipes and Techniques for Building the Best Drinks – American Test Kitchen

*If you want to finish working through the book in a single lifetime, I recommend sticking to a book with 100 or less recipes. Additionally, if you decide to use a cocktail book, I encourage making just 1 drink and splitting the pour between two glasses for you and your mixing partner.

Bee’s Knees

Ingredients

• 2 ounces gin
• 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
• ¾ ounce honey syrup*

Steps

1. Combine the gin, lemon juice and honey syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice, and shake until sufficiently chilled.
2. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe.
3. Optional – garnish with a lemon wheel or honeycomb.

*Honey Syrup Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup honey
• ⅓ cup hot water

Steps

1. Combine the honey and water in a container and stir until well blended.
2. Cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

The Bee’s Louise (Mocktail)

Ingredients

• ½ teaspoon Cordell’s Honey Ginger Balsamic Vinegar**
• ¾ ounce honey syrup
• 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon juniper berries – crushed
• 2 ounces still water
• 2 ounces sparkling water

Steps

1. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until sufficiently chilled.
2. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe.
3. Optional – garnish with a lemon wheel or honeycomb.

**If you haven’t shopped at Cordell’s on Buffalo Gap Road in Abilene, it is one of my favorite places in town. While you could sub this ½ teaspoon for an apple cider vinegar, the drink is significantly better with their honey ginger balsamic vinegar. I have long used their vinegars as shrubs in cocktails and have also started just sipping them mixed into sparkling water.

Something for the Season

Éire Maiden

Ingredients

• ½ ounce of Cordell’s Lemon White Vinegar
• 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
• ¾ ounce simple syrup
• 2 ounce water
• 8 mint leaves
• 3 thin cucumber slices

Steps

1. Combine all ingredients with ice into a cocktail shaker and shake until sufficiently chilled.
2. Strain into chilled rocks or cocktail glass.
3. Garnish with additional cucumber slices and/or mint sprig.

*To make this into the Irish Maid Cocktail simply sub out the vinegar and water for 2 ounces of Irish Whisky.

Irish Coffee

Ingredients

• 1 ounce Irish Whisky *Powers or Tullamore Dew recommended
• ¾ ounce demerara simple syrup *Turbinado or Light Brown Sugar will substitute, if needed
• 4 ounces fresh brewed coffee
• 1 ounce very lightly whipped heavy cream for topping

Steps

1. Preheat your mug: fill a heat-safe mug with hot water, let it sit for 2 minutes, then discard the water.
2. Add the whisky, simple syrup and fresh coffee into the mug and stir.
3. Top with whipped cream by pouring it slowly over a warm spoon onto the coffee, being careful not to break the coffee’s surface.
4. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg or cinnamon.

*Omit the whisky to make this a delicious coffee treat/mocktail!

Demerara Syrup Recipe

Combine equal parts sugar and hot water in a container and stir until sugar is fully integrated. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

By Erin Estill

Photos By Shayli Anne Photography

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