[busy bee]

1 1/2 oz Linie Aquavit
3/4 oz Cristinalda Brandymel Honey Liqueur
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail or small wine glass.

Two Mondays ago, we headed over to Brookline for dinner at Pomodoro when Stephen Shellenberger was tending bar. For a first libation, Stephen made me another drink using Brandymel, a funky Portuguese honey-herbal liqueur made with moonshine brandy. To that, he added Norwegian aquavit and lemon juice such that it came across as a Bee's Knees variation. For a name, I dubbed it the Busy Bee after a famous airline in Norway.
The drink's aroma was honey spiced with caraway, and the honey continued on into the sip where it was balanced by the lemon juice. Next, the swallow offered up the funkier aspects of the Brandymel along with the herbal elements of the aquavit.