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Home » Drinks

Bees Knees Cocktail with Rosemary Honey Syrup

Published: Sep 10, 2016 · Last Updated: Aug 2, 2023 by Josh - This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

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This bee's knees cocktail is made with a rosemary honey syrup. It's sweet, lemony, and refreshing! Made unique with the addition of rosemary.

Bee's knees cocktail on windowsill

The Bee's Knees is a cocktail we’ve made a thousand times at the Food Banjo HQ. It's light and refreshing.

A bee's knees is made with gin, a honey simple syrup, and lemon juice. So you get sweetness from the honey simple syrup, tart and sour from the lemon juice, and alcohol from the gin.

So what’s all the buzz about now? Aimee had the bright idea of introducing rosemary into this gin and honey cocktail in the form of a rosemary honey syrup. The result? More honey flavor and color without any of the bees!

You’ll need fresh rosemary for this Bee's Knees recipe. Luckily, rosemary grows like a weed in most of North America and many front yards are littered with it.

We took the dog for a walk up the block with a pair of scissors and foraged a few sprigs from a neighbor’s yard for the honey syrup and garnish.

rosemary bees knees cocktail on a windowsill

Ingredients for the Bee's Knees

  • Gin - Choosing the right gin for this is always fun to do. Gin can be vastly different based on the brand and the flavors they use in the gin. Some gins can be very juniper-heavy, while others can be a lot lighter. We prefer a clean tasting gin that doesn't overpower for this, like New Amsterdam, that lets the rosemary really shine in the cocktail. Test out and see what you prefer though!
  • Lemon - Fresh lemon juice works best in this bee's knees, so grab a few lemons!
  • Honey - You've heard of simple syrup? It's where you combine sugar and water and heat it up to make a syrup you can use in cocktails and mocktails. This recipe uses honey in the place of sugar!
  • Fresh rosemary - Rosemary is everywhere here in Texas! It's easy to keep a pot of it yourself to grow, or walk around the neighborhood with a pair of scissors and snip some when you spot some. Foraging at its best. In this recipe, you'll use rosemary to infuse and make the rosemary honey syrup and you can use it as a garnish for the drink.
  • Water - we use filtered water to make the honey syrup!
  • Ice - You'll use ice cubes both for shaking the cocktail and serving the cocktail.

How to make the rosemary honey syrup:

To make the rosemary honey syrup, heat water, honey, and rosemary sprigs in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally and heat for 10 minutes. 

rosemary sprigs
rosemary honey syrup

Let cool and remove the rosemary. Store in a jar in the refrigerator until ready to use.

rosemary honey syrup

How to make the Bee's Knees cocktail

To make the cocktail, add gin, lemon juice, rosemary honey syrup, and ice to a cocktail shaker and shake. Strain into a lowball glass over ice. Garnish with rosemary sprigs!

rosemary bees knees cocktail
bee's knees cocktail in the glass

Looking for more cocktail recipes? Check out some of our favorites:

  • Aviation Cocktail
  • Meyer Lemon Drop Cocktail
  • Dirty Gin and Vodka Martini
  • Watermelon Martini
  • Hugo spritz
Bees knees cocktail in a class with a rosemary sprig for garnish

Bee's Knees Cocktail with Rosemary Honey Syrup

Recipe by Josh
This bee's knees cocktail uses a rosemary honey syrup to make this already delicious cocktail even more flavorful and unique!
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 15 minutes mins
Course Cocktail
Cuisine American
Servings 1
Calories 327 kcal

Equipment

  • Cocktail Shaker

Ingredients
  

  • 3 oz gin
  • 1.5 oz rosemary honey syrup (see notes)
  • ½ lemon
  • ice cubes
  • fresh rosemary sprigs

Instructions
 

  • Add the gin, rosemary honey syrup, and the juice from ½ a lemon to a cocktail shaker along with several cubes of ice.
  • Shake 15-20 seconds and then strain into a lowball glass over ice.
  • Garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs.

Notes

To make the Rosemary Honey Syrup
Ingredients
  • 1 cup honey
  • 1 ½ cups filtered water
  • 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
 
Add all of the ingredients to a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat until it starts to simmer, stirring occasionally – about 10 minutes. Take off of heat and let cool. Store syrup in an glass jar in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Nutrition

Calories: 327kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 1gFat: 0.2gSaturated Fat: 0.02gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.01gSodium: 27mgPotassium: 103mgFiber: 2gSugar: 32gVitamin A: 12IUVitamin C: 29mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 2mg

If nutrition info is shown, values are based on an online calculator and are estimates. Please verify using your own data.

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  1. 5 New Year's Eve Cocktails - Food Banjo says:
    29 December, 2016 at 9:33 am

    […] The Bee’s Knees. I love love love this cocktail. If you’re a gin lover, this cocktail is for you. The sweetness of the honey combined with the rosemary makes this perfect for the season. And you can garnish with a sprig of rosemary for some added fanciness. One of my friends loves this cocktail so much, she served it at her wedding. […]

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Hi! I'm Aimee, and I'm so glad you stopped by! I love sharing easy recipes that are flavorful and delicious.
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