The Barreled Bee

About The Barreled Bee

I started my company in 2017 with a single barrel release and a single question: What happens when you put different honey varietals in different types of spirits barrels. I was working as a professional distiller at the time, and that supported my research and creativity, combining distilled spirits and honey through experimentation. Over the years my love for honey and experimenting with flavor combinations have led me to create some amazing products, like my cocktail inspired honey sticks, the Buzz Stix, that incorporate honey and spirits and are made to taste like the cocktails they are named for, that I released in 2020.

I want the consumer to taste the sweetness of the honey, the spices, and textures. As with spirits, different mediums can bring out complex flavors, so the spicy ketchup as a dipping sauce for fries, works just as great when mixed with a little olive to sauté vegetables. I make everything in a small commercial kitchen in Portland, OR, with a small crew. I source raw ingredients from local growers, and work closely with makers of all sorts on ways to use our honey and honey based food products.

What makes our products unique is the use of barrel-aged and non-aged honey as the only sweetener in our products. Unlike cane or other types of sugars that have a set flavor and sweetness level, honey does not. The flavor of honey is determined by the floral source, and the hive’s unique chemical makeup. Some honeys are sweeter, some are perceived as savory, smoky, bitter earthy, all of these flavors are carefully managed and curated by me. I taste and blend all the honey once it comes out the barrel and while making all the products, I taste for consistency to make sure that all the products maintain the same perception of sweetness.