On a night I wanted to drown my sorrows from capitalism with a cocktail, and honey was the closest thing I had to a sweetener. I searched for a few recipes and found a couple of easy ones you need to get on today.
Bee’s Knees
Since our copy editor sneaks gin into his cups of tea at the slightest inconvenience, this one should be his favourite. All you need is dry gin, lemon and honey. But honey isn’t great with cold cocktails, so you need to turn the honey into a syrup by mixing it with equal amounts of water and heating it until it’s caramelised. If you hate gin, you can substitute it with vodka.
Recipe:
- Find honey. Add two tablespoons of water and honey to a pot or a bowl to microwave. Heat it up until you get a consistency like syrup and set aside.
- Get a lemon and grate some of the peels into the honey and water mix. Then squeeze some of the juice in as well.
- Now to the cocktail: Fill a glass with ice and pour the honey syrup, lemon and gin. Next, stir things up.
- Drink up!
Pro tip: Try pineapple-flavoured vodka with honey syrup and apple juice for an extra wave of sweetness.
Source: Cookie + Kate
Fallen leaf
I recommend this for tea lovers. It’s a hot cocktail with bourbon, so why not? Fallen leaf is a twist on a hot toddy (spirit, sugar and hot water) — find the recipe here. For this cocktail, you need ginger-flavoured liquor, or you can proceed to juice ginger into vodka and then add cinnamon, lime, nutmeg and honey.
Recipe:
- Add 12 tablespoons of bourbon (or more) to a mug. Then add a tablespoon of lemon juice.
- Boil some water and add your choice of cinnamon tea. You can also just toss in a cinnamon stick to water and boil it as your tea.
- Now pour the honey syrup into the cinnamon tea and bourbon mix.
- Garnish with grated nutmeg and a lemon wheel. Cheers!
Source: liquor.com
Honeyed Coffee Gin and Tonic
This is for the coffee crack heads. And it only needs four ingredients: tonic water, gin, cold-brew coffee and honey syrup. The honeyed coffee gin and tonic says 28.3 grams (1 oz) of gin, but I eye-balled it and let the ancestors guide my decision. Enjoy it in any glass or mug of your choice.
Source: Emma Janzen, Imbibe
Recipe:
- Make your coffee, toss in some ice and stir. Add in lemon juice, honey syrup and tonic water.
- Add in more ice and some lemon zest to garnish.
Source: Julia Momose, Kumiko
RELATED: The Best Types of Coffee For An Authentic Nigerian’s Tastebuds
Mulled gin
This one is for the plain Janes like myself. Gin is a crowd favourite when it comes to honey syrup, and this recipe includes apple flavour for a kick. You can throw in some blended grapes, lemon and bay leaves, but feel free to tweak the recipe or keep it as simple as possible.
Recipe:
- Add gin to a glass.
- Get a pot, add in apple juice, a cinnamon stick, honey, grapes or berries and bring to a simmer.
- Strain the mix into a jar and pour it into your cup of gin. Add in some lemon juice and bay leaf for cover.
RELATED: What Your Favourite Alcohol Says About You
Tequila honey bee
Specially crafted for a drunk night out with the girls on a yacht in Dubai. But I’ll take an evening sipping this cocktail while I pretend I’m the main character of a Tyler Perry movie.
It needs five main ingredients: tequila, honey syrup, lemon juice, lemon peels and Angostura Bitters, a concentrate of herbs, to temper the sweetness. Or you can use agbo; let me know how it goes.
Recipe:
- Follow the bee’s knee recipe, but instead of gin or bourbon, use tequila as your base. Now add in Angostura Bitters, a lemon peel and ice.
Source: Insanely Good
Milk and honey cocktail
This is where you’ll see lactose-intolerant people gather. This cocktail recipe is a mix of scotch, milk, cream and honey. I also think this is for bougie drunks because which Nigerian drinks scotch?
Recipe:
- Get some alcohol of your choice as a base. Add in cold milk, some yoghurt or cream, orange slices and a cinnamon stick.
- Mix the drink, leave it in the fridge to chill and enjoy once it’s chilled.
Source: Difford’s Guide
Honey beer cocktail
Beer isn’t for everyone and that’s okay, but can you really say no to a beer cocktail? With honey? C’mon, live a little. This is for the alcohol drinkers that need to be a little bit daring. And it’s the easiest recipe.
Recipe:
- Add honey, lemon juice, beer and some mint into a cup. Next, stir the mix until the honey is dissolved.
- Add in ice and lemon juice.
Source: How to feed a loon
Note: 28.3 grams (1 oz) is about two tablespoons of whatever liquid you need in the drink.
Now, you know pineapple vodka and apple juice has my heart, but what do you think other Zikoko writers love to drink? Weird Homemade Cocktails Zikoko Writers Are Making
