bahia busy bee

2 oz Dry Gin (Beefeater)
1-2 tsp Lemon or Lime Juice (1/2 oz Lemon)
1 tsp Egg White (1/2 Egg White)
1-2 tsp Honey (3/8 oz Honey Syrup)
Scant 1/2 pony Cointreau (3/8 oz)
Fresh Mint (leaves from a sprig)

Shake once without ice and once with ice, strain into a Delmonico or Sour glass, and top with a dash of soda (Sour glass containing 1/2 oz soda, topped with an additional 1/4 oz soda). Garnish with a mint leaf wetted in Cointreau and coated with powdered sugar (naked mint leaf).

Two Wednesdays ago, I reached for Charles H. Baker's 1951 The South American Gentleman's Companion and spotted the Bahia Busy Bee. The drink was sourced from "the files of Dom Manoel Condé in Bahia, now called São Salvador, Brazil," and was also listed in Portuguese as the Coctel Abelha Active. I was drawn to the recipe for it reminded me of a Bee's Knees crossed with a White Lady and a Mint Billy.
The Bahia Busy Bee gave forth mint and juniper aromas that preceded a creamy, carbonated lemon sip. Next, the drink concluded with a gin, orange, and mint swallow.