The honey we use for our honey vodka comes from the local family-run Johnston Honey Farm. The beekeeping tradition began with Walter Leckenby in 1908. He started selling honey from a wagon in the front of his house. When Walter retired, he passed the business to his son-in-law Arthur Johnston. From selling out of the front yard to 10,000 hives the Johnston family grew their honey empire. The Colorado Honey Company, established in 2001, now distributes the family honey nationwide.
The honey is raw and unfiltered - all of the natural enzymes, pollen, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals stay intact. It’s KOSHER, unpasteurized, gluten-free and fat-free.
We take the honey from the Johnston Honey Farm and distill it for our Honey Vodka. There are aromas of lavender, hints of vanilla, floral notes up front and a mid-palate with warm notes of toasted nuts. Our vodka is NON-GMO, GLUTEN FREE, 40% ABV / 80 PROOF.
Beeyond the Hive is more than honey. Go to beeyondthehive.com to buy honey, beauty products, beeswax, candles and more.
HONEY FACTS:
Because of the multitude of floral sources from which the honey originates, no two honeys are exactly alike in flavor, color, and nutritional content.
The complex mix of sugars in honey provides an energy boost, but enters the bloodstream more slowly to provide a lasting source of energy.
A honeybee flaps her wings more than 11,000 times per minute.
In her lifetime, a worker honeybee will make just 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey.
Honeybees are social insects, with a marked division of labor between the various types of bees in the colony. A colony includes one queen, 300-3000 male drones, and 50,000-60,000 female workers. The queen bee is the only sexually developed female in the hive. After emerging from her cell, she will mate with approximately 18 drones bees, which will last her entire life span of nearly two years. A productive queen can lay 3,000 eggs in a day. The worker bees collect nectar, feed the queen and larvae, guard the hive entrance, and keep the hive cool by fanning their wings. The drone bees’ sole purpose is the mate with the queen. If there isn’t enough food for the hive they are the first to get the boot out of the hive.
HOW TO HELP THE BEES:
There are some ways you help the bees:
- Consider letting part of your yard go back to its roots...Bees love dandelions and clovers.
- Avoid pesticides and herbicides - search for bee-friendly natural alternatives.
- Make a garden with native flowers and herbs that bloom at different times of the year. A small pool of water gives them a place to drink and rest as well.