Honey is a healthy and tasty food. It is also one of mankind’s oldest treats. Beekeepers around North America know this, and they work in partnership with their bees to create a dazzling array of flavors and varietals.
Honey is also one of the healthiest sweetening agents you can find. You can add it to any recipe or dish and it will provide a unique flavor component, without many of the worries that come from refined sugar.
Over the previous century honey has always seemed to be a readily available product, one that was so basic that it was not given much thought. However over the last few years it has become clear that honey bees are more fragile than we ever thought. Not only do they make the honey, these pollinators are also key to our crops and fields, as well as to the ecosystem in general. Their welfare is our welfare.
For the Honey Awards our tasting panel’s focus was on four elements: taste, texture, packaging, and overall uniqueness.
Here are their top picks.
AWARD CATEGORY: TASTE
- Bee Squared Apiaries
- Bee Wild Devil’s Advocate, Ghost Pepper Infused
- Bloom Honey Orange
- MtnHoney Sourwood
- Bloom Honey Sage
- L. R. Rice Raw and Unfiltered
- DLockhart Honey Farms Pure Colorado Honey
- Bee Wild Sourwood
- MtnHoney Pure Wildflower
- MtnHoney Spring WildflowerDD
AWARD CATEGORY: TEXTURE
- MtnHoney Pure Wildflower
- Bee Wild Devil’s Advocate, Ghost Pepper Infused
- Bloom Honey Orange
- MtnHoney Sourwood
- Bloom Honey Sage
- Lockhart Honey Farms Pure Colorado Honey
- MtnHoney Spring Wildflower
- Bee Squared Apiaries
- Tupelo Honey3
- Bloom Honey
- L. R. Rice Raw and Unfiltered
- Bee Wild Sourwood 3.25 3
AWARDS CATEGORY: PACKAGING
- MtnHoney Spring Wildflower
- Tupelo Honey3
- Bee Wild Devil’s Advocate, Ghost Pepper Infused
- Bee Squared Apiaries
- Bloom Honey Orange
- Bloom Honey Sage
- Bloom Honey Avocado
- Bee Wild Sourwood
- MtnHoney Pure Wildflower
- MtnHoney Sourwood
- L. R. Rice Raw and Unfiltered
- Lockhart Honey Farms Pure Colorado Honey
AWARDS CATEGORY: UNIQUENESS
- Bee Wild Devil’s Advocate, Ghost Pepper Infused
- Bloom Honey Avocado
- Bloom Honey Sage
- MtnHoney Sourwood
- Bee Squared Apiaries
- MtnHoney Pure Wildflower
- MtnHoney Spring Wildflower
- Tupelo Honey3
- Bloom Honey Orange
- Lockhart Honey Farms Pure Colorado Honey
TOP GOLD & OFFICIAL HONEY PARTNERS
Top Overall Gold Honey Award Winners and Official Honey Partners of the TASTE AWARDS
JUDGES PANEL
Awards Judges are National and Regional Magazine, Newspaper and Blog Editors, plus Topic Experts, Local Chefs and Food Gurus.
To more about the Academy, visit the site.