Fennely Honey! A Cocktail To Be Beary Passionate For

The Aberfeldy Bees & Barrels program is an annual promotion where the scotch brand teams up with bartenders and urban beekeepers and apiaries worldwide to bring awareness to the importance of honeybees through the creation of cocktails featuring honey. For the 2021 program, Stephanie Reading, bar manager at Birdie G’s in Santa Monica, California, created a cocktail called Fennely Honey! A Drink To Be Beary Passionate For, featuring Aberfeldy 12 year old, Bank Note blended scotch, amaretto, Chinola Passion Fruit liqueur, orange blossom honey syrup, lemon juice, and Peychaud’s bitters, plus a pinch of salt and drop of fennel seed oil. “We had participated in this promotion in the past, but this particular year’s creation was so unique and well received that we haven’t taken it off our menu since,” Reading says. “With this cocktail I wanted to combine the deep warm and subtle smoky elements of scotch with the bright tropical tartness of passion fruit and the rich sweetness of honey—all things that are familiar but perhaps wouldn’t usually be seen together.”

Reading notes that the Aberfeldy 12 year old is an approachable single malt with underlying honey notes, which makes it very cocktail friendly. “To mellow out the very slight peatiness of the single malt and make it even more approachable for non-scotch drinkers, I decided to split the base with a blended scotch,” she says, adding that the amaretto and Peychaud’s add a slight nuttiness and spice element and the dash of fennel seed oil ties the whole drink together. “This fan-favorite has proven you can keep a scotch drink on the menu year-round in Southern California, and it seems to be here to stay,” she says. “It takes the sipper on a bit of a taste journey.”

Fennely Honey! A Cocktail To Be Beary Passionate For

Stephanie Reading, bar manager at Birdie G’s in Santa Monica, California

• 1 oz. Aberfeldy 12 year old single malt scotch
• 1/2 oz. Bank Note blended scotch
• 1/4 oz. amaretto
• 1/2 oz. Chinola Passion Fruit liqueur
• 1/2 oz. orange blossom honey syrup (recipe below)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 dash Peychaud’s bitters
• Pinch salt
• One drop fennel seed oil
• Dried fennel flowers or dehydrated lemon wheel for garnish

Lightly shake all ingredients in a Boston shaker with a few cubes of ice. Dump into a honey bear-shaped jar glass or other tall cocktail glass. Top with crushed ice and garnish with dried fennel flowers or a dehydrated lemon wheel.