Like a little heat with your sweet? We totally get it — so do we. And this bee sting drink combines sweet and heat in the most artful of ways.
How to Make a Bee Sting Cocktail
We're all about balanced flavors, and the bee sting cocktail has beautiful balance. With a little heat from chili liqueur and sweet from honey syrup, it's a buzzy cocktail you'll love from the first sip to the last.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces tequila
- ¾ ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ ounce honey syrup
- ½ ounce chili liqueur
- Ice
- Lemon twist for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Chill a martini glass or coupe.
- In a cocktail shaker, add ice, tequila, lemon juice, honey syrup, and chili liqueur.
- Shake to chill.
- Strain into the chilled glass.
- Garnish with a lemon twist, if desired.
Bee Sting Drink Variations and Substitutions
Like any recipe, you can modify your bee sting drink to suit your taste buds or simply to try a different riff.
- Instead of tequila, more closely mirror a bee's knees by using gin. Any style of gin, from dry to genever, works well.
- For a smokier flavor, use mezcal in place of the tequila.
- If you want a more pronounced lemon flavor, easily infuse your tequila with lemon.
- Give your cocktail a boozier kick using honey liqueur instead of honey syrup.
- Sweeten your bee sting by adding a splash or two of simple syrup.
Garnishes for the Bee Sting Cocktail
You can stick with the lemon twist garnish, and you can spice it up or even make it a little sweeter.
- Use a lemon wheel or slice for a more robust citrus lemon flavor.
- Drizzle some honey along the rim for a sweet garnish, or add a small drop to the bottom of the martini glass.
- Alternatively, run a lemon wedge along the rim of the glass and dip the rim into sugar for a sweet rim garnish. Add a dash of tajin or chili powder for a spicy and sweet flavor.
- Carefully garnish with a small dehydrated chili, using a cocktail clip to pin to the outside of the glass on the rim.
A Buzzworthy Drink
Embrace the fiery sting of the bee sting drink. With its sweet syrup flavors balanced by the spiced chili liqueur, it's sure to be a hit with not only your tastebuds, but anyone you happen to offer a sip. The sharing is entirely optional, though, and it's understandable if you want to keep it all to yourself.
