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The “Bee Sting” Is the Delicious 4-Ingredient Cocktail That Impresses All My Friends

Lindsay Funston
Lindsay FunstonEditor-in-Chief at The Kitchn
I never wanted to work in food, but when I got placed as the food team intern at Real Simple magazine as a new college grad, I knew it was a better fit than fashion or beauty. I didn't really know how to cook, but I loved to eat, and the idea of writing about food seemed fun — who doesn't love it? I moved on to work as an editor at Martha Stewart's Whole Living (RIP) and Oprah magazine (RIP) before saying farewell to print magazines and joining the founding team at Delish, where I fell totally in love with producing food content for the internet. Over the years, I've traveled the country hosting my own video series, written cookbooks, and developed hundreds of viral recipes, including the now-famous Marry Me Chicken (yup, that's me!). I love helping readers (and all of my friends!) figure out easy but still wildly delicious things to cook for dinner, a holiday brunch, a weekend picnic, you name it. Sometimes all you need is a home-cooked meal to turn around a bad day.
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published Sep 8, 2024
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Photo of two bee sting cocktails with sliced jalapeno pepper garnish.
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Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe; Food Styling: James Park

I don’t fancy myself a serious cocktail person, but I am always looking for more reasons to say “Cheers!” throughout the week, so I do like to whip up a concoction at home every so often. When we published our recipe for a Bee Sting Cocktail — a spicy riff off the beloved Bee’s Knees — I was immediately interested. I love a little heat, gin is always preferred over vodka in my house, and the lemon-honey flavor profile is one that’s tough for me to resist.

Get the recipe: Bee Sting Cocktail

How to Make the Bee Sting Cocktail

The one barrier to entry for me with this cocktail is that you have to make a simple syrup. But if I’ve learned one thing over the years of my beginner cocktail-making, it’s that simple syrup is just that: simple! Don’t waste time being intimidated by making one. The hardest part is making sure to plan ahead and anticipate that tonight you’re going to want a Bee Sting so you’ll need to have cooled syrup ready for cocktail shaking (it needs at least an hour in the fridge). 

The syrup itself will take you no more than five minutes to throw together: Zest a lemon; then combine honey, water, and salt until warm and dissolved; and stir in the zest until combined. Once your syrup has chilled and you’re ready for your cocktail, you muddle a little jalapeño; add lemon juice, gin, and the syrup; and shake with ice until very frosty — that’s it!

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Credit: Photo: Alex Lepe; Food Styling: James Park

What Makes the Bee Sting Cocktail So Good

This cocktail has a super-bright, citrusy flavor, thanks to using lemon zest and juice. It’s not overly tart, though, because there are equal parts honey to the water in the syrup, and the honey helps balance any pucker. Jalapeño delivers more depth of flavor with a mellow heat that adds just enough kick to keep things interesting. (If you’re someone who doesn’t like overly spicy cocktails, you can always halve the amount of pepper or cut altogether, but I think you’ll be OK.) 

I’m a gimlet girl so I love a gin cocktail, but this would be just as delicious with your liquor of choice, whether that’s tequila or vodka, even mezcal. It’s the perfect drink for impressing some friends or simply taking a break from more traditional classics like margaritas and negronis. Or, of course, a valid excuse to “Cheers” to the weekend. 

Get the recipe: Bee Sting Cocktail

This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: The “Bee Sting” Is the Delicious 4-Ingredient Cocktail I’ll Never Stop Drinking