Last Updated on July 1, 2025 by Leah Hall
We love the flavors in this classic gin cocktail, light and herbal with the lavender, perfectly citrus-y with the lemon! Cheers to summer with this Lavender Bees Knees!
One of the our garden herbs we have been really enjoying is our lavender, its purple flowers fragrantly floral in the summer sun. Make this Lavender Cocktail, as well as other cocktails with lavender syrup for your next dinner party! Some great suggestions are our Lavender Collins, Blackberry Lavender Gin Sour, or a Mint Lavender Gin Limeade.
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Lavender Bees Knees
We enjoy using lavender in other cocktails like the Brandy and Blackberry Lavender Shrub and our Lavender Old Fashioned. Using lavender added a rich floral freshness to the recipe, too. We then decided to use a lavender infused simple syrup to make a delicious summer cocktail, a Lavender Bees Knees.
Bees Knees Cocktail
The Bees Knees is a delicious classic cocktail recipe that has been around since prohibition. Bees Knees got its name from the popular 1920’s phrase “It’s the bee’s knees,” meaning the best. The Bees Knees is a take off of the old standby, the Gin Sour cocktail, but uses honey to add a rich complex sweetness to the drink.
Likely the change from the classic recipe to add a big dose of honey syrup was to hide the questionable flavors of the bathtub gin that was common in the 1920’s.
When we started making a Lavender Bees Knees, we found the original seemed too sweet, especially for a porch sipper. Try our Spicy Bees Knees, too!
Lavender Honey Syrup
So, we love a nice lavender simple syrup, but we decided to sub in some sugar for some honey. We decided to go half sugar and half honey.
We used a nice light gin, Hendrick’s, which has a nice hint of floral sweetness that worked really well with the lavender flavors. Fresh squeezed lemon juice brings a tart flavor, which makes the Lavender Bees Knees a nice crisp cocktail good for sipping on a summer evening.
We love the bit of honey to keep the rich sweetness and unique flavor in the Lavender Honey Syrup. We hope that you try it with the floral flavor of the lavender. Try lavender in our Lavender Margarita, too!
Tips & Tricks
- Glassware – a classic cocktail needs to be in a coupe glass. If you use a chilled glass, it keeps it cold while sipping on a hot summer evening.
- Garnish – a lavender sprig, lemon twist or wheel, or lemon peel work well. You can use lavender buds, but you may end up drinking them.
- Lavender Honey Syrup – the recipe is in the recipe card below. You can use dried lavender or fresh lavender.
- Gin – we used Hendrick’s, but a botanical gin or London Dry Gin are great options, too!
Cheers to this honey classic!
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Like this recipe? Try these below, too!
Lemon Lavender Gin & Tonic Granita Cocktail

Lavender Bees Knees
A lavender twist on the classic bees knees cocktail, with gin and honey.
Ingredients
For the Lavender Simple Syrup
- 1 cup water
- 4-5 sprigs of lavender and/or flowers
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup honey
For the Lavender Bees Knees Cocktail
- 1 oz Lavender Honey Simple Syrup
- 1 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 oz gin
Instructions
For the Cocktail
Add the ingredients to a shaker.
Fill shaker with ice.
Shake and strain into a cocktail coupe.
Garnish with a sprig of Lavender.
Cheers!
For the Lavender Simple Syrup
Bring sugar, honey and water to a boil, take off of heat, and add lavender sprigs.
Let sit for 15 minutes, strain out sprigs.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
1Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 268Total Fat: 0.2gSaturated Fat: 0.2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 27mgCarbohydrates: 30.2gFiber: 0.1gSugar: 6.4gProtein: 0.3g
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Marla Hutchison
Sunday 17th of November 2024
Hi! If I use culinary loose lavender instead of sprigs about how much should I use in the syrup? This sounds amazing!
Leah Hall
Sunday 17th of November 2024
Hi there Marla, about 1 Tablespoon Culinary lavender to 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar will probably work great. Good luck, and cheers! Leah
Kelly @connect_through_food
Friday 24th of June 2022
This cocktail was simply divine!! I loved making the lavender simple syrup with fresh lavender! It is such a perfect summer drink to share on a patio!! Thank you Noms for the delicious recipe! ❤️
Jo
Thursday 18th of November 2021
We love this recipe & want to share it with our friends! Any suggestions on how to sub bottled lemon juice? We need 2 cups for our party.
The Noms
Thursday 18th of November 2021
Hey there, you can use bottled in the same amount if that's all you have access to! Hope you have a great time at your party, cheers!
Nicole
Saturday 30th of May 2020
I'm confused by the instructions for this one. Honey is listed in the ingredients for the simple syrup. But in the instructions there is no honey in the simple syrup and it says to add the honey to the gin? So I add a 1/2 cup of honey to the 2 oz of gin? That doesn't sound right.
The 'Noms.
Saturday 30th of May 2020
Nicole, I am sorry about that! We had refigured the recipe a few weeks ago - and part of the instructions made it past my fix. Sorry about that. It should be correct now!
Shandon Arnold
Tuesday 19th of June 2018
I love this drink but make it a few different ways. Instead of simple syrup I make a honey syrup (2 parts honey to 1 part water) and either infuse that with lavender or just muddle a little dried lavender (fresher/stronger flavor) in the shaker with the plain honey syrup and other ingredients then just double strain it into the glass. Just can't stop drinking them!
The 'Noms.
Wednesday 20th of June 2018
The original Bee's Knees does have a honey simple syrup, so you are on the right track with that. Glad you enjoy it! Cheers!