For the purpose of mixing cocktails, it is often easier to use naturally runny honey - light honey is usually best given its delicate flavour.

It is also possible to simply dilute honey with hot water to achieve a similar result. A good guide for this is to mix equal parts of hot water and honey. If the honey is runny enough, you can dilute it directly into the spirits you intend to mix into your cocktail. As a rule of thumb,

Research suggests that darker honey, produced when bees collect honeydew from plants, is composed of less water and more antioxidants than the lighter coloured variety. Darker honey usually has a stronger flavour than pale or light honey, making the latter generally more suitable for mixing cocktails.

There are lots of honey varieties to experiment with - some suit certain cocktails better than others. For example, the flavour of acacia honey can be reminiscent of dried pineapple, which can provide an interesting twist for some recipes. Orange blossom honey is particularly popular for mixing cocktails, due to its sweet flavour and fresh citrusy scent.