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Cocktail History
The Bear With Me, Honey is a spring cocktail that was created by Morgan Stana at A Rake’s Bar in Washington, D.C. It starts out similar to its Prohibition-era predecessor the Bee’s Knees by using gin as the base spirit and honey as the sweetener, but it replaces the lemon with verjus blanc, a tangy fruit juice that tastes similar to vinegar. It then balances the acidity of the juice with orange liqueur, saline, frothy egg white, and aromatic rosemary.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Gin: This is a spirit made with juniper berries, botanicals, and alcohol. I used Suntory Roku Japanese Gin.
Verjus Blanc: This is an acidic juice made by pressing unripened grapes, crap-apples, or sour fruit. I used Fusion Napa Valley Verjus Blanc.
Honey Syrup: This is a sweetener made with honey and water. I made mine using this stovetop recipe.
Egg White: This is the clear liquid in an egg. I used fresh egg whites.
Triple Sec: This is a liqueur made with bitter oranges, lemons, sugar, and alcohol. I used Cointreau.
Saline Solution: This is a solution made with five to one kosher salt and water.
Rosemary Sprig: This is an evergreen herb.
Flower: This is an edible flower that can be used as a garnish.
Bartending Tools
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following bar tools:
Jigger: This is used to measure and pour ingredients. I used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. I used the Boston shaker from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Hawthorne Strainer: This is used to strain out ice and solid ingredients after the cocktail is shaken. I used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
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Tasting Notes
This cocktail has the following flavor profile:
• Appearance: Faint yellow color
• Aroma: Obvious rosemary and acidic juice
• Taste: Moderately bitter flavor and thick mouthfeel made of botanical gin and sweet honey
• Finish: More bitter sourness with slight citrus notes
Kendall’s Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Kendall’s Take: “I love the Bee’s Knees, so I was expecting to enjoy this variation of the classic quite a bit. As it turns out though, the vinegar taste wasn’t an ingredient I liked mixed with the others. The verjus was too overpowering compared to the other elements, in my opinion. It is a cute drink thanks to its bear-shaped glass, but I don’t think I’ll be shaking the Bear With Me, Honey up again. I’ll be sticking to the tried and true Bee’s Knees or the Tequila Honeysuckle made with tequila.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Liquor.com, an online beverage publication.
Bear With Me, Honey
The Bear With Me, Honey is a spring cocktail that was created by Morgan Stana at A Rake’s Bar in Washington, D.C. It starts out similar to its Prohibition-era predecessor the Bee’s Knees by using gin as the base spirit and honey as the sweetener, but it replaces the lemon with verjus blanc, a tangy fruit juice that tastes similar to vinegar. It then balances the acidity of the juice with orange liqueur, saline, frothy egg white, and aromatic rosemary.
Ingredients
Method
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Add gin, verjus, honey syrup, egg white, triple sec, saline solution, and cubed ice to a shaker.
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Shake for 10-20 seconds.
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Remove ice from shaker.
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Dry shake for 5-10 more seconds to emulsify egg.
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Strain into a bear-shaped rocks glass over fresh cracked ice.
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Garnish with rosemary and flower.
