Bee's Knees

Consider adding a grapefruit peel into the shaker before mixing the ingredients. This is called a regal shake. Grapefruit is great at reigning back the sweetness from the honey, and the oils from the peel will impart a subtle flavor which will elevate the drink.

Honey syrup is used instead of honey because the latter will want to crystallize and stick to your shaker as soon as you add ice.

Honey syrup is very easy to make, and it will make your life a lot easier. You can use honey syrup in other things besides cocktails – in your tea, or in your cereal, for example.

This cocktail was created sometime during Prohibition in the US (1920-1933). Lemon juice and honey were used to mask the taste and smell of bathtub gin (a word used to denote a homemade spirit). 

The Bee’s Knees is a moniker that is given to something or someone that is really good. The phrase has been used since around the same time that the cocktail was created.

It’s not known where the phrase comes from, with some people theorizing that the bee’s knees is the place where they collect pollen – where all the goodness is.

Another, perhaps more likely theory, is that it’s a reference to Bee Jackson, a 1920s professional dancer who was very popular in New York.

Interestingly, there’s an older moniker dating back to the previous century: a bee’s knee (singular), which was used in places like Ireland to denote something weak or insignificant.