Things always taste best when you share with a friend

I really enjoying drinking a good cocktail every now and then.  I don't drink often, only during the weekend and usually just one drink at that.  Of course if the mixologist is whipping up a tasty treat, well then maybe two will do for the evening.  Lately Doug and I have been enjoying a few classic cocktails, the Moscow Mule and Bee's Knees.

Just like many of the classic prohibition-era cocktails, the Bee's Knees is an icy and sweet concoction created to mask the incendiary taste of speakeasy mash.  Current recipes will include a steeped lavender blossom to add to the mix but I can't imagine the bartender at a speakeasy during the 1920's going through the trouble of finding a lavender blossom and steeping it for several minutes. 

The Moscow Mule is not prohibition-era but a product of necessity, hence invention.  In a nutshell, back in NY, some argue LA, but definitely in 1941, John, John and Rudy,  all business men in the business of libation, had to think of a way to sell ginger beer.  So after warming up with a few drinks and nibbles, they came up with the idea of mixing the ginger beer with vodka, Smirnoff Vodka to be exact.  The concoction would later be served in a copper mug, but that in itself did not add to the taste of the new drink.  It was merely a marketing ploy to sell drinks and then the drinker could take home the novel mug.  Much like buying wine from a winery and getting to take home the vintner's etched wine glass.

If you ever get the chance, please try either drink.  They work well in any season but always taste best when shared with friends.

Moscow Mule
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- 1 1/4 oz Smirnoff vodka
- 3 oz. ginger beer*
- 1 tsp. sugar syrup
- 1/4 oz. lime juice
- 1 sprig mint
- 1 slice lime
 Mix and enjoy

 
*After much trial and error, Doug and I have decided that Reed's Extra Ginger Brew Ginger Beer and DG Jamaican Ginger Beer are good products for the Moscow Mule.

The Bee's Knees
2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce honey syrup*
Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker, stir briefly to dissolve honey syrup, then fill with ice. Shake well for 10 seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
* Mixing honey with hot water makes it easier to mix in a drink. To make honey syrup, simply combine equal parts honey and hot water, and stir until dissolved. Keep remainder refrigerated.

image: http://www.jeffreymorgenthaler.com