Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: The Land of Milk & Honey

Well, we’ve survived another week in the nightmare known as 2020. I’ve got to be honest, all days are starting to run together. It seems like the only way I can keep track of the days is writing this column every week. It’s the little things right? Anyway, on to the cocktail. This week, the friend I have who lurks here sent me another drink suggestion. The last time he suggested a drink to review, he sent me the Margatini which was…interesting. He wanted a little redemption and suggested I make a Bees Knees. Having plenty of gin, and wanting a challenge of creating the accompanying honey syrup, I obliged and went to mixing:

2 ounces gin
3/4 ounces fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounces honey syrup
Garnish: lemon twist

Add all ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

For the honey syrup, I used a 3/1 ratio of honey to water, since I wanted a deeper honey flavor than what the Bees Knees version called for. I’m sure the 1/1 version is fine though.

The color is a light yellow, and slightly opaque. The nose is mostly gin, but not aggressively so. You can tell there is gin in the glass. There is a touch of sweetness that is able to make itself known when bringing the glass up for a sip.

Overall it is a well balanced sip.  The honey flavor does mellow out eventually, and gives way to a more full gin flavor palate. For as much honey that went in the syrup, the drink itself is not overly sweet.  I can detect a touch of honey in the general tones of the sip. Also, I tasted a bit of a bitter flavor in each sip. Possibly from the gin interacting with the honey.

The honey syrup is a much different animal than just regular simple syrup. It has a much deeper flavor, and is much more robust. I think it is more of a legitimate ingredient rather than a pure sweetener that simple syrup tends to be in multi ingredient cocktails. I certainly plan on making a bulk batch and keeping it on hand for the summer.

The lemon adds a nice acidity to the overall flavor. It helps balance out the juniper and honey flavors respectively. I actually ended up using lemon juice concentrate. Fresh would most definitely be better to use, but beggars cannot be choosers. I probably used about 1/2 oz. as opposed to 3/4 oz as the recipe calls for.

This is a very smooth and easy drinker. I ended up making two of these since this is a personal favorite of Mrs. Sharkbait, right after a dirty martini. For me, I certainly enjoyed it. I’m not sure if its an all night drinker, but I could easily put back two or three of these without thinking twice.

(Banner image found here)