Name: Lavender Bee's Knees
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 oz botanical gin (60 ml)*; 1 oz lemon juice, about ½ lemon (30 ml); 1 oz honey lavender syrup (30 ml); Lavender sprig, for garnish

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I love adding a floral flavor to cocktail drinks with honey lavender syrup, and this lavender bee’s knees is botanical, tart, and sweet all at the same time! It’s made with your favorite gin (I used Empress 1908 for this gorgeous pink hue), lemon juice, and honey lavender syrup.

Even better, this bright cocktail is naturally colored thanks to the anthocyanin in butterfly pea flower reacting with fresh lemon juice! Anthocyanin is a natural pigment that changes color depending on the pH level. You can see this effect more prominently with my color-changing lavender lemonade, as lavender is also colored with anthocyanin. That’s just one of the reasons I love baking and food science!

Two dark pink cocktails by lemons, lavender, and a honey dipper. — The lavender bee’s knees cocktail is a beautiful and simple cocktail made with gin, lemon juice, and honey lavender syrup.

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Ingredients for Lavender Bee’s Knees

The bee’s knees cocktail is made from gin, lemon juice, and honey syrup. With one easy twist, I make mine lavender-flavored! Please see each bullet point for substitutions and recommendations.

Botanical gin. I have Empress 1908 on hand, but any botanical gin will do. Note that your cocktail will not have the same pinkish hue if you use a clear gin like Hendrick’s or The Botanist!
Lemon juice. Freshly squeezed lemon juice will give you the best flavor.
Honey lavender syrup. I make a 2:1 honey lavender syrup with my favorite lavender to add a floral hint to cocktails and iced teas.

If you only have lavender simple syrup on hand and don’t want to make another batch of syrup, I’d recommend using vodka (or gin, for a twist) to make a lavender lemon drop martini instead. The honey syrup is what makes this drink a bee’s knees!

A bottle of botanical gin, honey lavender syrup, and a lemon on a quartz counter. — The lavender bee’s knees cocktail is made with just three ingredients: Botanical or indigo gin, honey lavender syrup, and fresh lemon juice.

Quick Tips for Prepping Lavender Bee’s Knees Cocktail

This floral lemon cocktail comes together easily: Simply shake the gin, lemon juice, and honey lavender syrup in a shaker with ice, then strain into a coupe glass. You can watch a short video of me making this cocktail in a couple of days on my YouTube channel.

If you’d like to make this honey lavender cocktail your own, here are a few suggestions:

You can serve this cocktail in a coupe glass, martini glass, or Nick and Nora glass.
Fresh squeezed lemon will give you the best flavor, and you can use the peel to make a lemon twist garnish.
If using Empress 1908, butterfly pea flower contains anthocyanin, a natural pigment that changes color in different pH levels. Once lemon juice is added, the drink will turn dark pink!
Use a shaker to thoroughly mix the drink together.
For a two-toned cocktail, shake the lemon juice and honey lavender syrup together, pour into a glass, and top with the gin for a lavender bee’s knees float.

Juice is squeezed from a lemon into a jigger. — With indigo gin, this lavender bee’s knees turns a dark pink after shaking!

A dark pink cocktail is poured out of a shaker into a coupe glass. — With indigo gin, this lavender bee’s knees turns a dark pink after shaking!

Other Recipes You May Enjoy

Lemon and lavender are one of my favorite flavor combinations, and that’s why I made three drinks with those flavors for my Lavender Drink Week 2024. If you also enjoy the tart and floral combo, you’ll love my lavender lemonade (non-alcoholic) and lavender lemon drop recipes!

Pair this drink with flower-shaped lemon lavender macarons if you’re up for a challenge or lavender madeleines for a dainty treat. Then, finish off with a lavender chocolate chip cookie fresh from the oven.

A honey dipper over a dark pink lavender bee's knees cocktail on a quartz counter. — To make this drink stand out, you can add the gin as a float for a two-toned drink!

Dish Cleanup: Piece of Cake

I rate my recipe cleanups on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 is only a handful of dishes, and 5 is everything including the kitchen sink.

This lavender bee’s knees cocktail recipe has a cleanup rating of a 1. You will definitely need a shaker, a jigger, a knife, and a juicer of some kind. If you like to live on the edge, then a cutting board is optional. I like that my cocktail shaker has an integrated jigger in the lid.