Fig Bees Knees |Cooking With Amanda

Whoa, it's officially autumn folks! Are you sad that summer has passed us by in a flash yet again? I'm sitting here thinking did I do everything I meant to do? Did I enjoy every moment of summer? Probably not and while I want to say I'll try again next year, the truth is, I'll just repeat myself again. Guess that's life as an adult, not enough hours in the day to do the fun stuff.

So while we start to say goodbye to summer, and everything that goes along with it — I'm ready for fall. Cooler weather, changing leaves, fall harvests, and an entire new set of food to ooh and ahh over until it disappears for another year. I'm currently in fig obsession mode, buying up as many fresh figs as possible and putting them into everything I can think of including cocktails like my Fig Bees Knees here.

If you aren't familiar with the Bees Knees cocktail, it's a Prohibition Era drink that's perfectly sippable year-round. Made with just a few ingredients of gin, honey, and lemon, it's refreshing, tart, and sweet at the same time.

In my personal opinion, it's a blank slate to adding additional flavors to adjust it to the season or your mood. A sprig of rosemary would add a woodsy touch or thyme for herbal flair. Lavender would play beautifully with the honey for a floral and fragrant cocktail.

However, today we are all about the figs. I love figs and honey. Add a little cheese and bread and I'm good to go. So in my opinion, it was a natural pairing to add them to this drink. The figs are steeped with honey and water and then strained out for maximum flavor and a pretty pink hue. A simple garnish and you are good to go for a Prohibition Era party or a night a home. Just don't forget your cheese board to go alongside of it!

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Fig Bees Knees Recipe

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Ingredients

For the Fig Honey Syrup:

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup honey
3 fresh figs, diced

For the Drink:

2 ounces gin
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 ounce fig honey syrup
lemon twist and fresh fig slices, for garnish

Directions

Place the water, honey and diced figs in a small saucepan and bring to boil. Turn off from heat and let steep for 10 minutes. Strain the figs from the liquid and pour the fig honey syrup in a bottle to store. Cool to room temperature before using and then store remaining syrup in the refrigerator for up to one week.
To make the cocktail: In a cocktail shaker filled with ice add the gin, lemon juice and fig honey syrup. Shake to combine and strain into a coupe or martini glass. Garnish with a lemon twist and fig slices.