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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 with juniper berries, botanicals, and alcohol. We used The Botanist Islay Dry Gin because it features cool mint, juniper, citrus, and herbal notes that play well with fruity ingredients. For a mocktail version of this drink, try MONDAY Zero Alcohol Gin in place of the gin.
Lemon Juice: This is the liquid juice of a lemon. We used freshly squeezed lemon juice.
Strawberry Syrup: This is a sweetener made with strawberries, white sugar, gum Arabic powder, and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s sous vide recipe.
Honey Syrup: This is a sweetener made with honey and water. We made ours at home using Alex’s simple recipe.
Rose Water: This is a flavored water made by steeping rose petals in water. We used Cortas Premium Rose Water because it’s high quality.
Strawberries: This a small red fruit that is soft and juicy and has yellow seeds on its skin.
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.
Paring Knife: This is used to cut ingredients. We used the OXO Good Grips 3.5 Inch Paring Knife.
Juicer: This is used to juice citrus. We used the ALEEHAI Manual Fruit Juicer.
Cocktail Pick: This is used to hold the garnish. We used one from the I-MART Stainless Steel Cocktail Pick Set.
Tasting Notes
The Bee My Valentine teases with prominent strawberry aromas, starts with a honey-sweetened taste that features gin botanicals front and center backed by fruity strawberry and lemon, and finishes with the sweet taste of honey and quiet florals on the swallow.
Our Opinion of This Cocktail Recipe: This relatively easy riff on the classic Bee’s Knees blew us both away with its tasty combination of flavors, and though we omitted the top off of champagne called for in the book’s recipe, we think our version of the Bee My Valentine is worlds better since it lets those flavors really shine without any competition.
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: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Though the original recipe we found in the book called for slightly different ratio of ingredients and sparkling wine to top, we went with a more classic Bees Knee’s variation’s-style drink with a split of strawberry and honey syrup with the rose water. The result ended up being absolutely amazing; it featured plenty of sweet flavors along with just enough lemon to balance it out, and it tasted like a loving date night should.”—
Kendall’s Take: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
“This was supposed to be what we’d consider a strawberry-flavored Bee’s Knees topped off with sparkling wine, but we decided to skip the bubbly altogether. I’m really glad we did 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, this cocktail is divine.”
Recipe
This cocktail recipe was adapted from Have Yourself a Merry Little Cocktail: 80 Cheerful Tipples to Warm Up Winter by Emma Stokes.
Add gin, lemon juice, strawberry syrup, honey syrup, rose water, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with strawberry.
Ingredients
Directions
Add gin, lemon juice, strawberry syrup, honey syrup, rose water, and cubed ice to a shaker.
Shake for 10-20 seconds.
Strain into a cocktail glass.
Garnish with strawberry.
Make It a Mocktail: Use MONDAY Zero Alcohol Gin in place of the gin to try a booze-free version of this drink.
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More Valentine’s Day Cocktails
If you like this Valentine’s Day-inspired cocktail recipe, here are a few others we’ve tried that you may enjoy:
Heart-Shaped Box: A brandy cocktail made with elderflower liqueur, lemon juice, cinnamon syrup, balsamic vinegar, Angostura aromatic bitters, and strawberries
Cherry Clafoutis: A brandy cocktail made with white crème de cacao, maraschino liqueur, and a cherry
Park Avenue: A sparkling wine cocktail made with brandy, orange curaçao, and red wine syrup
Brandywine Sour: A brandy cocktail made with sweet & sour mix, dessert wine, and red wine syrup
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