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Honey is increasing in price nationally due to several converging issues in the national honey situation. This is expected to last indefinitely. We do not expect to see honey prices come down in the next few years, and with the whole "Colony Collapse Disorder" that we are seeing around the world, honey prices *may* go up dramatically.
All of our specialty honeys are now retailing for $54.95 for 12 pound buckets (one gallon volume), which is usually sufficient to brew a normal five-gallon batch of mead, 12% alcohol.
When we have twelve-ounce jars of honey (not normally, but sometimes) they sell for $3.95, one pound jars of honey sell for $7.95, and two pound jars of honey sell for$11.95.
Please ask about 40 pound containers as well. Many of these honeys are available in larger 40 pound buckets at a small savings.... Usually around $139 to $159 for the 40 pounds
Raspberry Honey: Very popular with beginning mead-makers because of its fast maturation time and soft flavor. Usually this type of mead can be merrily enjoyed within twelve months of bottling, but it will continue to improve for up to five to seven years. Delicate yellow/clear color and mild fruitiness, this makes a smoooth, clean crisp mead. Great for dry meads, or for blending with fruits such as berries, apricots, peaches, etc. Also makes a great carbonated "champagne." Available in 12 pound, and 2 pound.
Orange Blossom Honey: Also very popular with beginning mead-makers because of its fast maturation time and it's very enjoyable aroma and flavor. A wonderful deep gold color, this has a noticeable hint of oranges in the bouquet, and a clean, smooth finish. Great by itself, in a traditional mead, or blended with citrus fruits (and zests), or even as a holiday mead with essences of nutmeg and cinammon. Available in 12 pound, and 2 pound.
(Herbal) Sage Honey: TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE. Darker than the previous two, this has the definitely noticeable smell and taste of the herb sage. Awesome by itself, or turned into a metheglin with the addition of rosemary, more sage, chile peppers, basil (the herb of kings), or woodruff, etc. Great as a big, hearty full-bodied mead, or as a metheglin base. Needs a few years for best quality. Available in 12 pound only.
Sweet Clover Honey: TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE. This is NOT regular clover, but a special varietal called "sweet clover." This has a very pronounced "vanilla" flavor which makes for a great still mead, slightly sweet is preferable, or a great Christmas mead, or even a wonderful "cyser" with the addition of apple juice. Needs a few years' aging for best quality. Temporarily Unavailable.
Blackberry Honey: A dark, coppery amber honey that would NOT be the first choice for mixing with fruits for a melomel. This is akin to a big red wine, probably good for spicing heavily and letting sit for four or five years to soften up. Available in 12 pound only.
Blueberry Honey: TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE. Very similiar to the aforementioned blackberry honey, this is slightly less dark and slightly more fruity in flavor. Blend this one with some real blueberries, or some blackberries or - best yet - some mulberries (!) for a purple, hearty "red wine" style of mead. Would also be great as a base for a complex spiced metheglin. Available in 12 pound only.
Willdflower Honey: One of the most popular honeys we carry. This comes from a bee keeping/ pollination company out of a local town and I'm not sure where place their hives for these wildflowers, but those that make mead from this honey swear by it. Amber/dark gold in color but more clean and smooth than one might think from seeing just the color - this is ready to go with about six to twelve months of aging, and has the potential to blow you away with about five years total of bottle conditioning. Available in 12 pound only.
Mint Honey: TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE. This is a brand new one. The flavor, eaten off a spoon is complex and spicy. Stay tuned for more info upcoming, but we have some here, now, for the adventurous among you. I can see it easily turned into a metheglin with some fresh garden herbs, even a few handfuls of peppermint thrown in for accent and aroma. Available in 12 pound only and 12-ounce only.
Snowberry Honey: TEMPORARILY UNAVAILABLE. To be honest, I made a spiced snowberry metheglin about ten years ago, and added in some "Bengal Spice" Celestial Seasonings tea bags, and I am still waiting for it to mellow out. Had some about two or three years ago, and it was MUCH better than the original samplings, but, boy, it was dark like molasses and had some EXOTIC undercurrents. I expect to pass this stuff on to my desendants in a last will and testament that warns them: Do Not Open Till 2090 - but, boy, throw a party when you do. This honey is black and dark, complex like some alien nectar not meant for the glands of Man. But I mean that in a good way. Available in 12 pound and 1 pound only. (PS: This honey would probably be great, sweet and raw, on pancakes in the morning.....)
Echinacea Honey: Ahhh, shall I wax poetic about a simple honey? This stuff is just plain good. I have never made mead from it, but if you just want a good honey to drip onto a biscuit, this guy is hard to beat. Yellow gold and bright like a spring day, this has a flavor that everybody just seems to love... Here, though, my fellow meadmakers, is the problem: Available in 1 pound only. (I MIGHT be able to get this in 40 pounds, ask if interested..)
Huckleberry Honey: Discontinued as of January 2001 due to beekeeper's inability to get a harvest this past summer. Keep your fingers crossed for next year.. (Update: Probably gone forever at this point.)
Poison Oak Honey: Do not laugh. This is the fastest selling honey I carry, and the most sought after. Imagine honey and rich, melted butter mixed together and that is the taste of poison oak honey. I have never turned any into a mead, but as an eating honey it is UNPARALLELED. Rich and sensuous, it even (theoretically) gives the eater immunity from the rash when next they may meet the leaves of three. It is available in 1 pound jars only, for $7.95 per pound. Unavailable to Fall 2009.
Cranberry Honey: Currently unavailable. Please inquire.
Fireweed Honey: One of the "fanatical" honeys that some people cannot live without, this has a clean crisp flavor with a hint of spiciness. If you are ever going to make a chile pepper metheglin, one with a hint of sweetness to counter the heat of the chiles, this honey would be hard to beat. Light white/yellow and with an awesome flavor,this would also make a great carbonated "champagne" or a wonderful metheglin with anything spicy - like Szechaun peppers, black pepper, or ????? Available in 1 pound and 40 pound only.
NEW: Organic Tropical Blossom Honey: A new one, this is from the wild blossoms that grow in the rainforests of Hawaii. It is aromatic, exotic and full-flavored. I have tasted a mead made from this exciting honey, and it was excellent. Highly recommended for the daring among us. It is officially "organic" as well (at no extra cost)! Available in 12 pound and 1 pound only.
Is this not enough for you? Email your request for a special honey and let me see what I can find. I have many resources for other types of honey that I choose not to carry, but would love to get in for you...
