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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. We used Suntory Roku Japanese Gin because its exceptionally complex thanks to its six Japanese botanicals. For a mocktail version of this drink, try MONDAY Zero Alcohol Gin in place of the gin.
Verjus Blanc: This is an acidic juice made by pressing unripened grapes, crap-apples, or sour fruit. We used Fusion Napa Valley Verjus Blanc.
Honey Syrup: This is a sweetener made with honey and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s simple recipe.
Egg White: This is the clear liquid in an egg. We used fresh egg whites because they add a rich, silky smooth texture.
Triple Sec: This is a liqueur made with bitter oranges, lemons, sugar, and alcohol. We used Cointreau because it’s one of the highest quality orange liqueurs on the market. For a mocktail version of this drink, try Lyre’s Orange Sec Non-Alcoholic Spirit in place of the orange liqueur.
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. We used the Japanese jigger from the A Bar Above 14-Piece Silver Bar Set.
Boston Shaker: This is used to shake ingredients. We 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. We used the A Bar Above Hawthorne Strainer.
Tasting Notes
The Bear With Me, Honey begins with rosemary aroma and features a moderately bitter flavor and thick mouthfeel made up of botanical gin and sweet honey, all followed by an aftertaste with a bit more sourness alongside a slight citrus note.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: To be honest, this wasn’t our favorite variation of the Bee’s Knees that we’ve tried. The drink gets its acidic nature from verjus, the wildcard ingredient that isn’t quite wine but is still pretty sour and can be likened to a vinegar in practice. We both found the recipe’s flavor combination to be a bit out there, and while we both respected its inventiveness, we probably wouldn’t shake up another one without more tweaking.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Which of our palates is yours most like?
Find out if your palate is most similar to Alex’s or Kendall’s by answering five questions.
Alex’s Take: ⭐⭐
“Although I love all things bitter, interesting, or crazy about 99% of the time, this drink didn’t quite hit the spot for me. The verjus was definitely unexpected and gave the recipe an overall slightly sour flavor that, to my palate, clashed a bit with the rest of the ingredients. The flavors of honey and gin are present with orange liqueur coming forward just a bit on the aftertaste, and the slight creaminess of the egg white does a good job of giving the drink an extra bit of oomph. That said, it’s definitely a challenging drink to the palate; not all imbibers will like it, but those that do will praise it for its balanced but pronounced bitterness and complex combinations of flavors.”—
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. I’m with Alex; the verjus was too overpowering. It is a cute drink thanks to its bear-shaped glass, but I don’t think I’ll be asking Alex to shake one of these up again. I’ll be sticking to the tried and true Bee’s Knees or the Tequila Honeysuckle we tried last spring.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Liquor.com, an online beverage publication.
Add gin, verjus, honey syrup, egg white, triple sec, saline solution, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Remove ice from shaker.
Dry shake for 5-10 more seconds to emulsify egg.
Strain into a bear-shaped rocks glass over fresh cracked ice.
Garnish with rosemary and flower.
Ingredients
Directions
Add gin, verjus, honey syrup, egg white, triple sec, saline solution, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Remove ice from shaker.
Dry shake for 5-10 more seconds to emulsify egg.
Strain into a bear-shaped rocks glass over fresh cracked ice.
Garnish with rosemary and flower.
Make It a Mocktail: Use MONDAY Zero Alcohol Gin in in place of the gin and Lyre’s Orange Sec Non-Alcoholic Spirit in place of the orange liqueur to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Honey Cocktails
If you like this honey-flavored cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Tequila Honeysuckle: A tequila cocktail made with honey syrup, lime juice, and a lime slice
Chartreuse Toddy: A brandy cocktail made with water, Green Chartreuse, lemon juice, honey syrup, and star anise
Bee My Valentine: A gin cocktail made with lemon juice, strawberry syrup, honey syrup, rose water, and a strawberry
Pot of Gold: A whiskey cocktail made with honey ginger syrup, lemon juice, egg white, and gold flakes
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