ABERFELDY’s Barrels & Bees Program Buzzes into Chicago

ABERFELDY is toasting the bees this fall on a job well done by bringing its Barrels & Bees program to Chicago. Barrels & Bees is ABERFELDY’s way of giving back to these powerhouse creatures, in celebration of all the hard work they do, pollinating plants, and producing honey.

ABERFELDY has partnered with local bars around the country – including Los Angeles, New York, and right here in Chicago -by donating barrel bee gardens alongside the distiller’s Honey Smash cocktail to highlight what happens when local honey is paired with ABERFELDY 12 Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

Chicago area bars participating in this celebratory program include The Dandy Crown (West Town) and The Duck Inn (Bridgeport).

For those interested in celebrating at home, check out the Herbed Honey Smash recipe below:

Herbed Honey Smash Cocktail Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

2 oz ABERFELDY 12 Single Malt Scotch Whisky

1.5 oz Lemon juice (or about half a lemon squeezed)

1 oz honey syrup 

Honey Syrup: 100g of honey and 64g water, stir and leave to chill.

4-6 leaves of soft herb (basil, mint, tarragon, etc.) 

METHOD: Add all ingredients to a shaker tin with ice. Shake vigorously and strain using a fine mesh strainer into a small rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with your fresh herb of choice.

You can use any soft herb (basil, mint, thyme, tarragon, dill, marjoram or even cilantro) you'd like for different flavor combinations. Also, you can mix and match these flavors too for a different herbed honey smash each time. For more herb flavor, steep your fresh herbs in your local raw honey before making syrup.