Batch 112 - Sunflower Honey aged in Bellemara Tropical Gin Barrel, 2oz Mini Jar

Compact and shareable, though I guarantee once you taste the honey you won't want to share. 

Bellemara Distillery is located in Hillsbourgh, NJ. This is the first time I've ever used a barrel from a distillery not located in Oregon or Washington. This was a special case, grounded in a chance meeting and friendship. I met Bellemara's distiller, Faye Johnson on the set of Master Distiller back in 2022. Her episode S5E7 Bang for your Buck if you're interested in seeing her in action.

What do you do when you're filming for a week and isolated in a hotel in the middle of Tennessee? Valid question and in our case we'd drink homemade moonshine brought by contestants, late into the night. Swapping stories and ideas and inspirations.

In one of our conversations I pitched idea of using one of their gin barrels. I traveled out to visit Faye in June of 2023 and I was able to taste the gin they produce, which gave me a head start on what kind of honey I thought would pair well with the fruit and tropical vibe. 

Sunflower came across my path when I was picking up other honey and I immediately fell in love with the texture and silkiness of it. It had slight tang and hint of raw nuttiness, little herbaceous. Not remotely fruity, and that's why I loved it for this project. 

The result was a honey with subtle gin notes, hint of lime and coconut, though I don't believe coconut was in the mix. The Juniper was prominent but not over powering. The overall mouthfeel was like satin and heavy cream. 

It was a small barrel, only 15 gallons and I was a little hesitant with the amount of honey I put in. So this is the smallest batch release I've done since I started. 

NOTE: Bottle in pic is the 11oz not the 2oz. It was used for honey color reference.