Bee’s Knees

MABEL GRAY’S TAKE ON THE CLASSIC DRINK

Paul Fradeneck - Mabel Gray

Photography By | August 15, 2021

Ingredients

  • 1½ ounces Valentine Liberator Gin
  • ¾ ounce Lillet Blanc
  • ¼ ounce Aveze
  • 1 ounce lemon juice
  • ½ ounce Rooftop Honey Syrup* (see about this recipe)
  • For garnish: bee pollen

Preparation

Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker over ice.

Shake vigorously for 4—7 seconds.

Strain into a rocks glass over ice.

Garnish with bee pollen.

About this recipe

*For the rooftop honey, Mabel Gray Bar Manager Paul Fradeneck extracts honey from the honeycomb by heating it in the oven for about 15 minutes, and then he presses the honeycomb through a fine-mesh strainer to separate the honey from the comb/wax. (The above step can be replaced by using already-strained honey.)

To make honey syrup, use a ratio of 2 parts honey to 1 part hot water. Fradeneck weighs the honey, then adds half of that weight in hot water and mixes.

“I find that the 2:1 ratio yields the level of sweetness and texture/viscosity that I am looking for,” he says.

Ingredients

  • 1½ ounces Valentine Liberator Gin
  • ¾ ounce Lillet Blanc
  • ¼ ounce Aveze
  • 1 ounce lemon juice
  • ½ ounce Rooftop Honey Syrup* (see about this recipe)
  • For garnish: bee pollen