Juliet Gin · Recipe 27
The Beekeeper's Gimlet
Honey and gin have always understood each other.
Ingredients
- 55 ml Juliet Gin
- 25 ml fresh lemon juice
- 20 ml honey syrup
- 10 ml thyme simple syrup
- 2 dashes cherry bitters
Method
Shake. Serve in a Coupe. Garnish with Thyme sprig + honeycomb piece (optional).
Honey syrup: 2:1 honey to warm water. Thyme simple syrup: steep 3 thyme sprigs in warm 1:1 syrup, strain.
The story
The Bee's Knees was a Prohibition-era staple — honey, lemon, and gin, the honey and lemon employed to mask the flavour of bathtub spirits. The name was contemporary slang for 'the best of something.' The recipe survived because it actually is. This variation gives it a botanical twist via thyme and reaches for Juliet Gin's cherry depth by adding a tiny measure of cherry bitters. Honey syrup is the single most impactful house preparation a home bartender can make: combine two parts honey to one part warm water, stir until dissolved, refrigerate. Two minutes of effort that transforms a dozen cocktails. The thyme syrup adds herbal complexity that pairs beautifully with gin's botanical character.
Tasting note
Golden and luminous — honey sweetness balanced by lemon's acid, with Juliet Gin's cherry and lemon notes weaving through a thyme herbaceousness. Deeply satisfying in the way that only simple, well-sourced ingredients can achieve.