- 2 oz FLORENA Butterfly Pea Gin
- 0.75 oz Fresh lemon juice
- 0.75 oz Honey syrup (or raw honey, slightly warmed)
How to Make It
Prepare honey syrup
If using raw honey, warm it gently in a small saucepan with an equal part water (1:1) until fully dissolved and pourable. This makes it mix easily in cold cocktails. Cool before using.
Combine and stir
Add ice to a mixing glass. Pour in FLORENA Butterfly Pea Gin, fresh lemon juice, and honey syrup. Stir with a bar spoon for 20–25 seconds — enough to chill and slightly dilute without losing texture.
Watch the color
FLORENA Butterfly Pea Gin starts as deep indigo-blue. As the acidic lemon juice contacts it, watch it shift toward violet and pink. This reaction happens naturally from the butterfly pea flowers — no artificial coloring.
Serve
Strain into a chilled coupe or pour over a single large ice cube in a rocks glass. Garnish with a thin lemon wheel or a small fresh flower if available.
Bartender Notes
The color science
Butterfly pea flowers are natural pH indicators. In alkaline or neutral environments they're blue-indigo. Citrus (acidic) shifts them toward violet, pink, and magenta. The reaction is instant and visible.
Honey variety
Raw local honey adds the most flavor depth. Clover honey is mild and works in any cocktail; buckwheat honey adds robust earthiness; orange blossom honey adds a floral note that complements the gin botanicals.
Classic roots
The Bee's Knees was created during Prohibition to mask the taste of rough bathtub gin with lemon and honey. FLORENA Gin doesn't need masking — but the combination remains one of the most balanced three-ingredient drinks ever created.