A floral, non-alcoholic version of the Bee’s Knee’s cocktail, this Lavender Bee’s Knees is sweet, tart, and alcohol free. It’s made with homemade lavender honey simple syrup and a splash of zero proof gin. Perfect for enjoying on a sunny spring or summer day!
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This Lavender Bee’s Knees cocktail is a twist on the classic Bee’s Knees which is a gin cocktail made with a splash of lemon juice and a bit of honey. To add even more of a spring flair, we mixed in homemade lavender honey simple syrup. It gives the drink a sweet, floral note that’s perfect for sipping on in spring or summer!
Ingredients
- Non-Alcoholic Gin: We like using Lyre’s or Damrak.
- Fresh Lemon Juice: You’ll need ⅓ oz which you can get from about ½ a lemon.
- Honey: This is an essential ingredient for any bee’s knees cocktail.
- Water: This is the base of the simple syrup.
- Dried Culinary Lavender: You’ll need 2 tsp.
How to Make Lavender Honey Simple Syrup
To make homemade lavender honey syrup, all you need is a small saucepan, honey, water, and dried lavender. First, heat the water and lavender on the stove until it reaches a boil. Then stir in the honey until dissolved.
The last part is the hardest since you have to let it steep for 1 hour off the heat. But good news is is that you can make this ahead of time so you have it on hand when you’re ready to make your Lavender Bee’s Knees. Plus, there’s enough to make more than a few cocktails which is great for when you want to serve multiple people.
Tips
- Make the syrup ahead of time so you don’t have to wait to enjoy your cocktail.
- Use fresh lemon juice for a better tasting drink.
FAQ
The bee’s knees cocktail falls under the sour category of drinks, so it’s a bit sour with a touch of sweetness from the honey. And there’s just enough lavender to add a floral element without it tasting soapy. It’s like spring in a glass!
It lasts for 1-2 weeks in the fridge when stored in an airtight container. There should be enough to make at least 4 drinks.
There are lots of places to get alcohol-free gin online. We usually get ours from Lyre’s and No & Low. The liquor store in our area sells Ritual Zero Proof gin so there’s a chance you might find some at the store. But online is your best bet.
– Cocktail shaker
– Strainer (if your shaker doesn’t have one)
– Jigger: for measuring small amounts of liquid
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📖 Recipe
Lavender Bee’s Knees (Non-Alcoholic)
Ingredients
For the Lavender Honey Syrup:
- ¼ cup (60 ml) water
- 2 tsp dried culinary lavender
- ¼ cup (88 g) honey
For the Lavender Bee’s Knees:
- 2 ½ oz (75 ml) Lyre's Dry London Spirit or other non-alcoholic gin
- ⅓ oz (10 ml) fresh lemon juice
- ½ oz (15 ml) lavender honey syrup
Instructions
For the Lavender Honey Syrup:
- In a small saucepan, bring the water and lavender to a boil over medium heat.
- Remove from the heat and add the honey.
- Return back to the heat and stir until the honey has dissolved.
- Remove from the heat and let steep for 1 hour before straining with a fine mesh strainer. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
For the Lavender Bee’s Knees:
- Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
- Shake vigorously for 15-20 seconds then strain into a couple glass.
- Garnish with a sprig of dried or fresh lavender. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use fresh lemon juice for a better tasting cocktail.
- Total recipe time includes making the syrup. We recommend making it ahead of time to cut back on time. The cocktail itself takes 5 minutes max to make.
- Nutrition information is only an estimate.
SL says
Can you provide guidance on how to make the NA lavender Bee’s Knees for a group of 15? Maybe as a punch?
fancifuleats says
Batching a shaken cocktail can be a little tricky, but we’ll do our best to put it into small bites of info. First off, you’ll want to multiply the syrup by 3. You should have enough to make the batched drink. From there, you can follow these instructions:
– Multiply by 16 for easier math and measuring
– Add 10% water to account for dilution (that’s 10% of the total liquid)
– Make it a few hours beforehand so it’s mostly fresh, but don’t add the lemon juice just yet
– Keep the cocktail and lemon juice in separate airtight bottles or jars and chill in the fridge for a few hours
– Just before the event, mix the lemon juice with the chilled, batched cocktail
You can add the whole thing to a punch bowl then serve in coupe glasses. It’s best chilled, so if you need larger glasses with ice, that works too. I know it can be a bit confusing, but unfortunately it’s not as simple to batch a shaken cocktail as one might think. Hope that helps though, and we provided some resource links below!
Resources: https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-batch-cocktails and https://simplegoodnesssisters.com/blogs/cocktail-farm/batching-cocktails-how-to-batch-drinks-easily-for-parties