Mezcal Bee's Knees
The Prohibition classic gets a Oaxacan education. Mezcal's smokiness threads through floral honey and bright lemon juice in a three-ingredient cocktail that feels timeless with a modern twist.
- 2 ozmezcal
- ¾ ozhoney syrup
- ¾ ozfresh lemon juice
- Lemon twistgarnish
- 1Combine mezcal, honey syrup, and fresh lemon juice in a cocktail shaker.
- 2Fill with ice and shake vigorously for 12 to 15 seconds until very cold.
- 3Double-strain into a chilled coupe glass to remove any ice chips.
- 4Garnish with a lemon twist, expressed over the surface.
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The Bee's Knees was born during Prohibition in the 1920s as a clever way to mask the harshness of bathtub gin with honey and fresh lemon juice. The name was slang for something excellent, and the cocktail lived up to the billing. The original recipe appeared in Frank Meier's 1936 cocktail guide The Artistry of Mixing Drinks. The mezcal adaptation keeps the original three-ingredient structure intact while introducing earthy smokiness that transforms the cocktail's character entirely. The mezcal version has circulated through the craft cocktail community since mezcal's broader rise in the 2010s, with bartenders at agave-forward bars championing the combination as a natural expression of the spirit's complexity.
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