Bee's Best Friend

After a very long winter, it's finally starting to get warmer in Chicago this year. I made it out early to Gethsemane Garden Center to get my garden started. While I was looking for things to get, I wanted to grow some decorative flowers this year and while asking for help, a staff member pointed me to this sweet alyssum and noted that it smells like honey. It seemed only the white flowers smelled like it, but I immediately wanted a bee's knees. 

After buying some stuff for my garden, I was rethinking the idea of making a bee's knees and instead went in the direction with a gold rush. I've lately been drinking some Hakushu 12 and thought the grassy/herbal taste in that whiskey would go great with an idea of a floral overload. 

I first experienced something like this at The Aviary a few years ago when my oldest sister was in town. She ordered a drink that came in a pitcher filled with plants that you had to stick your face into them in order to drink it. If done right, getting that much aroma can improve drinking a cocktail so I wanted to play around with this idea with the Hakushu 12. 

RECIPE: 1 cocktail
2 oz Hakushu 12 yr.
0.75 oz honey syrup
0.625 oz lemon juice
crushed ice
flowers for garnish (pictured, sweet alyssum, snapdragons, special primrose)

Rise all the flowers. Make a small bouquet with the sweet alyssum and primrose, tying the stems with kitchen twine. 

Cut a straw so it's short enough that you have to stick your face in the flower garnish to drink it.

Crush ice and mostly fill a lowball. Place the straw in the glass. In a Boston shaker, add whiskey, honey syrup, and lemon juice. Shake until chilled and strain into glass. Top off with any remaining crushed ice. Garnish with bouquet and any other flowers around the straw and drink immediately.