Bee’s Knees

That’s my grandmother Clara on the right, walking on the Atlantic City Boardwalk. She looks like she stumbled onto the set of Boardwalk Empire. I never had the chance to know Clara, but she seems to have been quite the flapper. Clara took a steamship to Europe to meet her future husband Joe who was already there, working as a news agency photographer. They were married in Paris and toured Europe before coming back to the states. All this was happening during the 20′s, which was the height of Prohibition. Although I never met Clara, I’m proud to say that I don’t think she was a teetotaler. On the back of one photo from Begium of their trip that she sent back to her sister in NJ, Clara says “We went into De Z waan and had some Ports – a drink of wine for less than 7¢.”

My heightened interest in my family comes from finally connecting with my half cousin. Joe and Clara split just after my dad was born. Joe never kept contact with Clara as he started a second family. My friend Scott researched my genealogy and after four years, I was able to get in contact with my half cousin Joe through, of all things, facebook. I’m happy to say that so far everyone in both families has been excited about this connection.

So Clara was the Bee’s Knees. The phrase “the bee’s knees,” meaning “the height of excellence,” became popular in the U.S. in the 1920s, along with “the cat’s whiskers” (possibly from the use of these in radio crystal sets), “the cat’s pajamas” (pyjamas were still new enough to be daring), and similar phrases which made less sense and didn’t endure: “the eel’s ankle,” “the elephant’s instep,” and “the snake’s hip.” The Bee’s Knees is a term indicating excellence – the highest quality. Bees carry pollen back to the hive in sacs on their legs. The allusion is to the concentrated goodness to be found around the bee’s knee.

That’s seemingly the accepted definition.  I just think it happened to sound cool at the time, or any time.

The eponymous cocktail has a honey component as well. It appeared during prohibition and legend has it that the honey was used to cover the alcoholic aroma.

• 3 oz. Death’s Door Gin
• 1 oz. honey syrup
• 0.75 oz lemon juice
• shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. add a flamed lemon peel

I made the honey syrup by mixing one part organic wildflower honey with one part warm water. I had no idea what to expect with this cocktail. I chose Death’s Door gin as it is loaded with botanicals. They seemed to mix well with the honey and the citrus, as both flavors came through in this cocktail.

Here’s to Grandma Clara.

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~ by Tom on March 13, 2011.