Bee's Knees Mocktail

Before you start

The original Bee's Knees is a gin sour sweetened with honey instead of sugar. Honey brings floral flavor and a rounder texture, and lemon keeps it bright. This version swaps the gin for strong chamomile tea, which shares honey's meadow-flower aroma and adds a faint bitterness that stops the drink from being just sweet lemon. A short top of soda water makes it lighter and easier to drink with food.

Two details decide whether it works. First, thin the honey into a syrup before measuring; raw honey seizes on contact with cold juice and never fully dissolves. Second, brew the chamomile at double strength, because shaking with ice adds water and a normal cup of tea disappears in the glass.

Ingredients

• Honey syrup2 tbsp (about 40 g) honey
• 2 tbsp (30 ml) hot water
• Drink2 tea bags or 2 tsp loose chamomile tea
• 90 ml (3 oz) water — just off the boil, for the tea
• 45 ml (1½ oz) double-strength chamomile tea, chilled
• 22 ml (¾ oz) fresh lemon juice
• 22 ml (¾ oz) honey syrup (1:1)
• 45 ml (1½ oz) soda water — very cold
• 1 cup (about 150 g) ice cubes — for shaking
• 1 strip lemon peel — for garnish

Method

1. Stir the honey into the hot water until no streaks remain. This 1:1 honey syrup pours and mixes easily; let it cool before using.
2. Steep the chamomile in 90 ml of water just off the boil for 5 minutes, pressing the bags at the end. Strain and chill until cold to the touch. You need 45 ml for one drink.
3. Put a coupe in the freezer. Add the chilled chamomile, lemon juice and honey syrup to the shaker and taste a drop; it should be tart first, then honeyed.
4. Fill the shaker two-thirds with ice and shake hard for about 10 seconds, until the tin frosts.
5. Double-strain into the chilled coupe, leaving room at the top.
6. Pour the soda water gently over the back of a spoon so it floats in without killing the foam from the shake. Express the lemon peel over the glass and serve.

Tips for success

• Strongly flavored honeys such as buckwheat can overpower the tea. A mild clover or orange blossom honey is the safest start.
• Make a jar of honey syrup and keep it chilled; it is handy for tea, lemonade and other sours.
• If you want a still drink closer to the original, skip the soda and serve it straight up after the shake.

Substitutions

Chamomile tea

A non-alcoholic gin alternative gives juniper and a sharper, drier drink. Use it one-for-one; it costs more but needs no brewing.

Honey

Agave syrup works for a vegan version but loses the floral note. Use 15 ml, since agave is sweeter than a 1:1 honey syrup.

Soda water

Tonic adds bitterness and quinine dryness. Expect a sweeter drink overall, so cut the honey syrup to 15 ml.

Variations

Lavender bee

Swap 7 ml of the honey syrup for lavender syrup and garnish with a dried lavender sprig.

Ginger knees

Replace the soda with ginger beer for heat and spice.

Troubleshooting

There are sticky threads of honey in the shaker

The honey went in undiluted and seized on the cold juice. Always make the syrup first and let it cool before shaking.

The drink tastes like plain lemonade

The tea was too weak or still warm and over-diluted. Brew it double-strength and chill it fully before mixing.

It is cloying

Some honeys are sweeter than others. Drop the syrup by 5 ml or add 5 ml more lemon.

Storage

Honey syrup keeps in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks; discard it if it looks cloudy or smells fermented. Brewed chamomile keeps chilled for a day. Shake and top the drink just before serving.

Safety notes

Honey should not be given to infants under 12 months old.