France: A rooftop garden serving cocktails flavored by the bees and flowers of Provence.
“There’s a vegetal side that comes from Thai Basil as well as the softness that the bergamot honey provides,” the bar man contends. “It is entirely reminiscent of the variety of herbs and plants surrounding our hives.”
By Brad Japhe
Thrill List
Oct 3, 2022
Excerpt:
The bar director for the 5-star seaside resort has assembled a cocktail which buzzes with provenance. To make it work, he enlisted the help of a secret weapon—several thousand of them, to be exact. “The Bomb Honey is my celebration of the honey we cultivate on the rooftop at Le Majestic,” he explains. “It was created to amplify the flavor profile of our own brand of honey [sold exclusively at the hotel], which holds its own distinctive flavor afforded by the unique climate of Cannes and the specific microclimate on the rooftop of the hotel, where our bees live.”
But honey is only one way in which these busy bees are helping craft the signature cocktail. There’s also a refreshing herbal blast in each sip, for which the insects play a vital role. “The herbs and plants used in the drink are from the hotel’s gardens,” adds Balestra. “They are pollinated by bees kept in four hives on our rooftop. The bees are multifloral and they forage specifically on a type of flower commonly found in the old town of Cannes called ‘Brouillard Blanche.’ This means the honey has a very specific taste with notes of caramel.”
