Jance Bee's Knees

Jance Bee’s Knees is a fancy Bee’s Knees cocktail with Jance Honey Spirit and an accent of Macadamia and Wattleseed Liqueur, with honey, lemon, lime and Quillaja or egg white, sprinkled with mandarin dust, garnished with a lemon twist, a Geranium leaf and Geranium flower. Inspired by David Embury’s 1948 recipe for a Bee’s Knees Cocktail with orange juice appearing in his book The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks – this version uses lemon and lime for a super bright sour that works with the floral notes of Jance Honey Spirit. Mandarin dust looks a little like a dusting of pollen on the surface of the drink and adds a beautiful citrus aroma. The Bee’s Knees is a Gin cocktail circa 1929 when women’s bars became popular in Paris – its invention attributed to Mrs. J.J. Brown of Paris and Denver who according to an article in The Standard Union newspaper, first mixed lemon, honey and Gin in a Bee’s Knees, which is a popular expression of the 1920’s, along with the cat’s whiskers, meaning ‘the best’.

Ingredients

½ oz. Lemon Juice
¼ oz. Lime Juice
½ oz. Extra Rich Honey Syrup (see recipe below)
2 oz. Jance Honey Spirit
¼ oz. Macadamia & Wattleseed Liqueur
6 drops Quillaja, Wonderfoam, or 1 egg white
Garnish: Lemon twist, Mandarin Dust, Curious Cabinet, Geranium leaf and flower

Method

Add all ingredients to a shaker tin with ice and reverse dry shake - shake with ice, strain, remove ice, shake dry, with no ice - and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist, expressing the oils over the surface of the drink first, then dust with a sprinkle of Mandarin Dust and garnish with a fresh Geranium leaf and flower.

Extra Rich Honey Syrup

Makes about 80mls
75grms (about ¼ cup) Honey
25grms (about 1 ½tbspns) Water
Combine honey with water in a small pan and heat over low heat, stirring until honey has melted. Decant into a clean glass jar – cool and refrigerate.

Tip: Measure honey and water by weight using a kitchen scale – weigh one part water to three parts honey.

Recipe & photography by peck of pickles | Kate Ireland