Top Bartender Gabe Briseno’s Current Obsession: Honey
Los Angeles bartender Gabe Briseno loves using this rich and versatile sweetener in drinks.
Forget exotic fruits and rare liqueurs, talented Los Angeles bartender Gabe Briseno often finds inspiration in one of the most common pantry staples: honey.
“Most bartenders nowadays use simple syrup as a sweetener,” says Briseno, who currently works at the California outpost of Employees Only. “But honey is also a good one that you can just add a dash of and it just changes the whole cocktail.”
Throughout his career, including stints at famed cocktail bars Honeycut and Faith & Flower, he’s used honey in everything from herbal infusions (he particularly likes pairing it with thyme and basil) to even using a dehydrated honeycomb as a garnish.
Of course, honey has long been used to add flavor and texture to cocktails. For good reason it’s made appearances in classics like the Bee’s Knees and the Airmail, as well as in modern favorites, including the Penicillin and Gold Rush.
Honey is “really bright and fragrant on my palate,” says Briseno. “I really enjoy it when I’m trying to make a cocktail that’s more lively.”
Briseno particularly likes its floral notes and aromatic quality, but he’s careful to only use the sweetener in drinks that can handle its bold flavor. It works particularly well in a sour cocktail (generally 2 parts liquor, 1 part citrus and 1 part sweetener) and in a spirit-forward concoction, like using it in place of a sugar cube in an Old-Fashioned or adding a dash to a Rum Manhattan.
One of his favorite honey creations is his Grandma’s Breakfast (recipe below), which is a blend of bourbon, coffee liqueur, honey syrup, lemon juice and allspice dram, which appears on the bar’s happy hour, or as they call it “golden hour” menu.
“The honey really shines and works well with the cold brew liqueur and bourbon,” says Briseno.
He generally uses a ratio of three parts honey to one part water. It’s easier to pour if you make the ratio of water greater, but you don’t get as much honey flavor or sweetness, so you’ll need more of it.
Whatever you do, go in with a light hand. “It’s a flavor profile that can dominate if you’re not careful with it,” he says. But his most important piece of advice is “if you don’t dilute the honey, it’s just going to stick [to the shaker] and you’re not going to get much out of it when you’re shaking.”
“I swear by the bees,” says Briseno. “They know it all. You put honey on your toast, you use it in your cocktails. It just works.”
INGREDIENTS
- 1.5 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon
- .5 oz Mr. Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur
- .75 oz Honey syrup (3 parts honey to 1 part water)
- .75 oz Fresh lemon juice
- Allspice dram, for spritzing
- GLASS: Double Old-Fashioned
- GARNISH: 1 Star anise pod
DIRECTIONS
Spritz or rinse a double Old-fashioned glass with allspice dram. Add a large ice cube and set aside. Add the rest of the ingredients to a shaker and fill with ice. Shake, and strain into the prepared glass. Garnish with a star anise pod.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 oz Gin
- .75 oz Honey syrup (3 parts honey to 1 part water)
- .75 oz Lemon juice
- GLASS: Coupe
DIRECTIONS
Add all ingredients to a shaker and fill with ice. Shake, and strain into a coupe glass.