Registration for the National Honey Board’s free Honey Spirits Competition closes on Aug. 12. The annual competition recognizes the best made with honey spirits in the nation.
“We talked to quite a few distillers about whether we should host this year’s competition due to the impacts of COVID-19 on the spirits industry,” Catherine Barry, National Honey Board’s director of marketing, says. “We received a resounding ‘Yes, have the competition!’ because we’re able to offer a free competition and truly promote some amazing spirits made with honey.”
The Honey Spirits Competition is hosted by the National Honey Board and is open to professional distilleries that use honey in their products. The competition’s categories include vodka, whiskey, liqueurs, brandy, moonshine and more. This year’s entries must be submitted by Wednesday, August 12, 2020. Distilleries may submit multiple entries per category, but each spirit may only be entered in one category. To register, visit http://honeyspiritscompetition.com/.
Last year, more than 90 made with honey spirits competed for honors in 11 categories. When the judging was complete, Barr Hill Gin from Vermont-based Caledonia Spirits took home top honors.
The winners of the 2019 Honey Spirits Competition:
2019 Gold Medal Recipients
Honey Gin: Barr Hill Gin — Caledonia Spirits
Honey Vodka: Glass Nectar Vodka — Glass Distillery
Honey Liqueurs/Specialty: Krupnikas Spiced Honey Liqueur — Brothers Vilgalys Spirits
Honey Liqueurs/Specialty: Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur — Honey House Distillery
Honey Brandy: Bohemia Honey — R. Jelinek
Distilled from Honey: Sweet Sting Honey Spirit — Westslope Distillery
Distilled from Honey — Flavored: Limoncello — Hatch Distilling Co.
Design/Packaging: Honey Jack — Tenth Ward Distilling
For a full list of winners, more information and pictures, please go to http://honeyspiritscompetition.com/2019-awards/.