Jon’s gotten into making honey syrup-based cocktails, something that seemed difficult until he actually tried it. Now he just whips up a little when he needs it by whisking honey and water together. Simple.

My favorite honey-based drink so far has been the Gold Rush, really just a whiskey sour with honey instead of sugar, and it was the best thing ever when I had a sore throat a few weeks ago. Jon wanted to do a bit of experimentation with other drinks, of course, and I was quite happy when he presented me with a Hummingbird Down last weekend. Bright and tart, the honey is just a lurking warmth in the drink, which is mostly a vehicle for the unusual flavor of green Chartreuse (which I happen to love). It was a hit.

Hummingbird Down

• 2 oz gin
• 3/4 oz lemon juice
• 3/4 oz honey syrup
• 1/4 oz green chartreuse

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with lemon.

While I was enjoying my drink, Jon made himself a Keegan, an impressively bright drink with Aperol and lime. It was a replacement for his first drink, which (alas!) got poured down the sink. It was a cocktail called a Heavenly Dram, and sounded like a good idea at the time.

It looked very much like Guinness Stout poured into a cocktail glass, and it tasted strangely like Guinness as well. If that sounds like a good idea to you, feel free to give it a try (but consider yourself warned):

Heavenly Dram

• 2 oz single malt
• 1/2 oz pedro ximenez
• 3/4 oz lemon juice
• 1/4 oz honey syrup

Shake and strain into a glass. Garnish with a lemon twist. And if you don’t like it, hopefully you didn’t use the good single malt.