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Cocktail History
The Bee My Valentine is a Valentine’s Day cocktail that was created by Emma Stokes and was first published in her book Have Yourself a Merry Little Cocktail: 80 Cheerful Tipples to Warm Up Winter. It’s a simple variation of the Bee’s Knees that uses the classic’s template of gin, honey, and lemon, but it adds a bright strawberry syrup for more fruit flavor.
Cocktail Ingredients
To make this cocktail, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Gin: This is a spirit made by redistilling a neutral spirit with juniper berries and other botanicals to develop a distinctive, aromatic flavor.
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid extracted from the flesh of ripe lemons that has a sweet, tangy flavor and light yellow color.
Strawberry Syrup: This is a sweetener made with strawberries, white sugar, and water, which are heated and infused into a syrup with a sweet-tart, berry flavor.
Honey Syrup: This is a sweetener made with honey and water, which are heated and infused into a syrup with a sweet flavor.
Rose Water: This is a floral distillate made with rose petals and water, which are steam-distilled to develop a delicate, floral aroma.
Strawberry: This is a type of berry grown on low plants that has bright red skin speckled with yellow seeds and tart, sweet flavor.
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.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. I used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. I used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Cocktail Pick: This is used to hold the garnish. I used one from the I-MART Stainless Steel Cocktail Pick Set.
Tasting Notes
This cocktail has the following flavor profile:
• Appearance: Pale orange-yellow color
• Aroma: Prominent strawberry
• Taste: Honey-sweetened flavor featuring gin botanicals, fruity strawberry, and citrus
• Finish: More sweet honey and florals
Kendall’s Take: “This was supposed to be what I’d consider a strawberry-flavored Bee’s Knees topped off with sparkling wine, but I decided to skip the bubbly altogether. I’m really glad because this tart sipper is absolutely delicious as is and honestly wouldn’t have been quite as good with the wine masking the other ingredients. If anything, I’d up the strawberry syrup some more because I wanted more of its flavor, but otherwise, the Bee My Valentine is divine.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was found in the book Have Yourself a Merry Little Cocktail: 80 Cheerful Tipples to Warm Up Winter by Emma Stokes.
Bee My Valentine
Description
The Bee My Valentine is a Valentine’s Day cocktail that was created by Emma Stokes and was first published in her book Have Yourself a Merry Little Cocktail: 80 Cheerful Tipples to Warm Up Winter. It’s a simple variation of the Bee’s Knees that uses the classic’s template of gin, honey, and lemon, but it adds a bright strawberry syrup for more fruit flavor.
Ingredients
Method
Add gin, lemon juice, strawberry syrup, honey syrup, and rose water to a shaker.
Fill shaker with cubed ice.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Using a Hawthorne and fine mesh strainer, strain into a Nick & Nora glass.
Garnish with strawberry.
