This morning I saw a reference to the Norse goddess, Freyja. She’s an interesting character, most remembered as the goddess of love, lust and fertility, but I prefer her “darker side” as the goddess of magic who hand picks half of the fallen who enter Valhalla, plus she’s got a sweet cat-drawn chariot drawn. Yeah, a chariot pulled by a team of cats. So much awesome. Of course, the way my mind works instead of mixing up some Viking blood concoction, I’m suddenly presenting a virtual offering to our own Nashville goddess of magic, Freya West, the human embodiment of the Bee’s Knees.

I’m probably in the minority as someone who noticed the bees first, but that commitment to a prohibition era phrase always makes me smile and was the inspiration for tonight’s drink choice. Lots of drinks were born in those prohibition days of cheap, illegally produced gin as a way to hide any off flavors and make the drinks more palatable. We have great gin now, but adding a couple of simple flavors is still well worth your time. So grab your shaker tins and add two ounces of gin, I used Mischief from Seattle, 1/2 ounce of lemon juice and 1/2 ounce of honey syrup. This is super easy to make just mix honey and hot water 1:1. I then added a couple of stabs of El Guapo Cucumber & Lavender Bitters, before filling with ice and shaking till the tins were icy. Double strain into a chilled coupe and garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary. That’s it. A super simple cocktail with a long and varied history and some of the best tattoos in burlesque. Stay home, stay safe and stay sane, my friends.