I Tried Beyoncé's SirDavis & Signature Honey Bee Cocktail
“Rugged whiskey, ‘cause we survivin’.”
Beyoncé is getting into the premium spirits game. While some fans have been hoping for a possible tour announcement after Cowboy Carter, the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer surprised her BeyHive on Aug. 20 with a new whisky drop instead.
SirDavis is Beyoncé’s first-ever top-shelf liquor made in partnership with Moët Hennessy and inspired by her great-grandfather Davis Hogue. Hogue was a Southern moonshiner during Prohibition, so with Beyoncé’s drink of choice being whisky, it only makes sense to create a brand named SirDavis.
Even the bottle, which showcases a horse like the ones featured on Renaissance (Reneigh) and Cowboy Carter (Chardonneigh), pays homage to Beyoncé’s family and Texas roots.
How To Make SirDavis’ Signature Honey Bee Cocktail
The whisky brand officially launches on Sept. 4 (aka Beyoncé’s birthday) and to celebrate the big day, SirDavis created a signature cocktail inspired by the singer. The Honey Bee requires the following ingredients:
- 2 oz SirDavis American Whisky
- .75 oz lemon juice
- .5 oz honey syrup
- Honeycomb garnish
If you don’t have honey syrup, you can easily make your own at home by heating up two parts honey and one part water in a saucepan. Stir that until the honey has dissolved, then let your syrup cool in an airtight container.
To make the Honey Bee, combine all your ingredients into a shaker with ice and pour into a glass. Add your honeycomb on top for some more Insta-worthiness.
Ahead of SirDavis’ official launch, I got to try the Honey Bee and the whisky on its own. Here’s my honest review:
Sipping On SirDavis Is Like Sitting On The Porch In The Summer
Whisky may not be my go-to like it is for Beyoncé, but I can appreciate a good spirit and SirDavis is delicious.
According to the press release, the liquor has a buttery toffee flavor with spices like cinnamon, clove, and rye. For me, though, it was so strong and spicy, it was hard to really taste much — at least with the first sip.
As I kept sipping, I could sense a bit of citrus, which is one of the notes to follow along with malt, biscuits, and honey as a finish.
The Honey Bee Cocktail Is Buzz-Worthy
The honey really comes through in the cocktail that I made at home. The Beyoncé-inspired drink was super easy to make, even the homemade honey syrup. The only thing I didn’t follow from the recipe was the honeycomb garnish, because it’s mostly for aesthetics.
Overall, the Honey Bee was very lemon-forward. I was hoping for more of a honey-flavored drink, but this was all lemon juice. It really reminded me of a lemon tea with honey that you might sip on when you’re not feeling well, which wasn’t bad — just interesting.
I did add in a bit more of the honey syrup to make it sweeter and less sour, and this is when I really started to enjoy the Honey Bee a lot. The extra sweetness made the flavor come through and gave more of a Southern-style lemonade taste. It really reminded me of drinking homemade lemonade during the summer in Florida where I’m from.
The flavors were not only nostalgic, but really nailed the Beyoncé theme of Cowboy Carter, Texas, and even a bit of her 2016 album, Lemonade. The whisky was a lot more subtle in the Honey Bee cocktail, so it was a great way to enjoy the spirit if you’re not used to drinking it straight.
Pre-orders began for SirDavis on Aug. 20, but the $90 whisky is available nationwide now. You can find it online at SirDavis.com, and at retail stores like Total Wine & More, BevMo!, and ABC Fine Wine & Spirits in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington D.C.
If you decide to make the Honey Bee, I would suggest doing equal parts lemon juice and honey syrup if you want something that’s “sweet honey buckin’.” This is a delicious sip to say goodbye to summer as you’re listening to songs like “II Most Wanted” and “Levii's Jeans.”
