Hotels have been touting rooftop beehives for the past decade; honey has made its way into massages and facials; resorts in Europe offer sessions in apipod huts (wooden structures with attached beehives that create a supposedly healing vibration).
But as other trends fade away, honey’s use has evolved and matured, especially in food and drink. And that comes as no surprise to Claire Marin, founder and head distiller of the Catskill Provisions distillery, makers of Pollinator Spirits.
Marin’s 300 beehives in the Western Catskills of upstate New York provide honey for her line of spirits that include New York Honey Whiskey (subtly infused with raw wildflower honey), Pollinator Gin (partially distilled from wildflower honey) and Amaro, where raw honey “smooths the edges.”
Growing concern about the climate has created demand for even low-carbon cocktails, she said, where honey can be a star ingredient. “Cocktails are becoming simpler, with better ingredients. People want naturally produced things. They don’t want corn syrups and colors and flavors.”
At the Catskill Provisions tasting room in Callicoon, N.Y., the cosmopolitan is made with Pollinator vodka and juice from cranberries that are cooked, pureed and put through a sieve. The Bees Knees uses Pollinator gin with only fresh squeezed lemon juice and raw honey syrup.
Marin said that fans of Pollinator spirits also appreciate the company’s larger mission to be “socially responsible and connected to your community and to your terroir.” And unlike many distilleries, she wants the flavors of that land to be present in her products. She doesn’t distill the Catskill mountain water, but lets it influence the taste. “I think that’s what makes our spirits stand out. They are different than others. And that’s the beauty of it.” Groups or individuals can tour the 42-acre production facility and gardens and go fishing at the pond, or just hang out at the tasting room, which also serves lunch and dinner.
Sampling mead with Savanna Bee Company
At the Savannah Bee Company in Savannah, Ga., the proprietors are doing their best to introduce people to the importance of bees and impart an appreciation of the myriad products made from honey.
One that is growing in popularity is mead, a fermented alcoholic beverage made from honey. Savannah Bee Company offers a combined tour of its beehives and a flight sampler of six meads, served with a platter of honeycomb, local cheese and apples. It makes for a unique afternoon spent getting close to the hives in beekeeper garb, and then a fun tasting of what bee educator Bill Skelton thinks is the next big thing in spirits.
“Mead is where craft beer was about 15-20 years ago,” he said. “Meaderies are popping up like mad.”
Mead enthusiasts like Skelton like to point out that it may be the world’s oldest alcoholic beverage, and given honey’s nutritional benefits, one of the healthiest
The six meads, from Savannah Bee as well as other meaderies, included the traditional style — using only honey, water and yeast — and a few infused meads, which can have a wide array of flavors. We tried one with fig and creamsicle, another with star thistle blossom and a sour raspberry flavored mead (called Razzputin). Like wine, mead can be still or effervescent. I was a big fan of Savannah Bee’s own Savannah Heat, made with spicy “hot honey.”
The mead selection at Savannah Bee changes according to season and availability. And meaderies seem to have fun with their naming. Look for Stranger Bings, John Lemon and MonkHatten.
If the mead has you feeling a little sleepy, be sure to book a session in Savannah Bee’s on-site apipod, which it calls the Bee Therapy Hut and where even employees have been known to get lost in slumber to the vibration of thousands of bee wings.
