Queen Bee Cocktail

Looking for a really simple cocktail to impress your friends at your next party? You’ll love the queen bee cocktail!
This layered cocktail is easy to make with just a few ingredients and always a hit at any gathering.

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The Queen Bee Cocktail

If you like gin cocktails, you’ll love the Queen Bee.
This cocktail is a variation of the Bees Knees cocktail that is made with gin, honey liqueur and lemon.
While the bees knees uses plain gin, with the queen bee we use empress gin to get that beautiful lilac layer that looks so nice.

What is Empress Gin?

Empress gin is a purple coloured gin, made with a unique blend of botanicals.
Butterfly pea blossom gives the gin it’s pretty purple color.
The name comes from the fact that the gin is from the Fairmont Empress Hotel on Vancouver Island, British Columbia
It is a great tasting gin, and perfect for cocktails because it adds a gorgeous purple hue to any drink
I’ve used Empress 1908 gin in the past for my Encanto cocktail and classic Rainbow cocktail. 

Queen Bee Cocktail Ingredients

To make the the queen Bee, you only need a few simple ingredients. 
We’ve already discussed the Empress gin – the other ingredients that make this drink absolutely delicious are honey liqueur and lemon juice for a little bit of tartness.

For the honey part of your cocktail, you can choose to use honey syrup, or a honey liqueur like we did.
If you want to use honey syrup, you can take honey and water and boil it on the stovetop.  Don’t forget to let it cool before using a cocktail.

If you’d rather try a honey liqueur , I highly recommend Bärenjäger Honey Liqueur.

This is a German brand that goes perfectly with gin. You can find it at most liquor stores.

Ingredients needed;

• Empress gin
• Bärenjäger Honey Liqueur
• Lemon juice
• Bitters

Those are the simple ingredients you need to make the queen of the room for a printable copy of the recipe scroll down to the bottom of this post.

How To Make a Queen Bee Cocktail

As this is a layered drink, there are a few different steps.

Step one

Add the honey liqueur  and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker with ice.
shake vigourously for 15 seconds
Strain the mixture into your glass with fresh ice

Step two

Allow the mixture to settle in the glass, and then using a cocktail spoon or the back of a teaspoon, slowly pour the empress gin on top of the mixture. 
Take your time with a step in order to create clear layer.

Step three

Add a dash of bitters to your drink and gently stir just the purple layer
Serve immediately

How To Garnish your Cocktail

To garnish your cocktail, you can either add a curl of lemon rind or use edible glitter to make your drink sparkle!