Cocktail Club

Cocktail Club | The Garden Bee’s Knees, featuring Beehive Distilling’s Jack Rabbit Gin


Cocktail Club by Heartbeat Nosh

The third Heartbeat Nosh Cocktail Club was our biggest yet! Fall is in the air, and you could certainly tell by the array of wonderful food that was noshed on, as well as our amazing September cocktail, The Garden Bee’s Knees. This month, HBN Cocktail Club featured Salt Lake City’s own Jack Rabbit Gin, created by Beehive Distilling. Amazing things happen when smooth, local gin comes together with freshly-harvested opal basil and tomatoes. Wow.
Garden Bee's Knees

September Cocktail Club Hostess: HeidiHeidi Nedreberg

I met Heidi in grad school and we were pretty much instant friends. We are incredibly like-minded and passionate about everything from writing, solitude, education, and the people in our lives. Heidi has always been an inspirational person in my life – and the good news is, she can also sling a mean cocktail. Heidi and her partner, Sarah, have an amazing back yard with an even more amazing garden. So, for this month’s cocktail, Heidi used ALL local ingredients, This was my first introduction to opal basil – and it was the perfect compliment to The Garden Bee’s Knees. Heidi’s garden is just another part of her world that inspires me. Thanks for hosting, Heidi!


September Featured Cocktail: The Garden Bee’s Knees, featuring Beehive Distilling’s Jack Rabbit Gin

Garden Bee's KneesIngredients

2 oz Jack Rabbit Gin
3/4 oz honey basil simple syrup (1:1)3/4 oz water (or to taste)
1/2 lemon, fresh squeezed
Basil leaves or flowers
1/4 cherry tomato


Preparation/Directions

Prepare your simple syrup: combine equal parts local honey and water with 5 leaves of basil. Simmer until basil leaves turn brown. Remove leaves and refrigerate.

Combine Jack Rabbit Gin, simple syrup, water, and lemon in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well. Strain into a glass, garnish with basil leaves and cherry tomato wedge.

Inspired by recipes for simple syrup on postprohibition.com and Bee’s Knees on beehivedistilling.com

Jack Rabbit Gin is my new favorite. This is not a very dry gin – so it tastes different than many of the gins you might be used to. Jack Rabbit gin is incredibly smooth, light, with complex notes of citrus and juniper. The basil in The Garden Bee’s Knees was perfect because it really helped to pick up those flavorful earthly tones. Never in a million years would I have previously thought to sip gin – however, I found myself sipping on Jack Rabbit Gin and enjoying it quite a bit. It is easy to drink (as Heidi will attest to; they polished off a bottle trying recipes for this month’s HBN Cocktail Club! ha!), floral, and velvety. This vodka girl might go straight to Jack Rabbit Gin and never look back.

If you have some fresh fall harvest in your backyard – I suggesting seeing what you have that would make a tasty and creative gin cocktail. Basil? Thyme? Rosemary? Tomatoes? Cucumbers? I can’t think of much that wouldn’t compliment this local spirit. You can also find great gin recipes on Beehive Distilling’s website. As one of my friends said “Jack Rabbit Gin tastes like the West Desert.” A beautiful description for a wonderful local product, created with a lot of love, right here in Utah.

Check out more photos below to see the making of The Garden Bee’s Knees step-by-step!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

Thanks again to Heidi and Beehive Distilling for a fantastic Cocktail Club!

HBN Cocktail Club

And a huge thanks to this amazing group of ladies who attended,
learned a few things, and got a decent buzz on. 🙂

HBN Cocktail Club
HBN Cocktail Club will meet again on October 11 for a fun Halloween-themed cocktail.
You won’t want to miss this upcoming cocktail recipe, featuring local favorite, Vida Tequila!

Follow HBN Cocktail Club on Instagram and Twitter
with hashtag #HBNCocktailClub, @noshmaven

*Beehive Distilling provided t-shirts for this post – thank you!
Find Beehive Distilling HERE on Facebook



Click here for food based Products on Amazon.

Find out how to calculate value for used cars?