NRN Featured Cocktail: The Bees KneesNRN Featured Cocktail: The Bees Knees

Sonya Moore

"It's one of those lost classics," mixologist and bartender Jeffrey Morgenthaler said about The Bees Knees.

The drink is part of a menu that was introduced near the end of March for El Vaquero, a Eugene, Ore., restaurant for which Morgenthaler develops drinks.

"We bill ourselves as a place that spins twists on the classics," Morgenthaler said. He explained that the drink appears to have its roots in Prohibition, with the usual combination of ingredients being gin, honey and lemon juice. But the El Vaquero version of the cocktail instead uses a 15-year-old rum that "kind of tastes like honey … a butterscotch-y, honey rum"; lemon simple syrup, which "mixes a lot better than honey"; and fresh lemon juice.

All cocktails at El Vaquero are $8.