My wife and I are enjoying (and packing) some of the eastern US varietal
honeys, and are more and more interested in doing gift packs of these.  We
also are thinking of doing honey tasting parties, like the wine folks do.
 
   My question is:  Outside of eastern USA, I'm sure there are many fine
honeys (and maybe some awful ones too), and I'd like to hear from some of the
beekeepers on what they consider the finest and worst of their area.  Who
knows, maybe we'd be interested in buying some of these?
 
   Some we already know about:
 
South Carolina:
Blackberry:   Tangy and fruity, medium color.
Tupelo:  Water white, bland flavor, won't crystallize.  Not my favorite; I
like more flavor, but mighty popular with some buyers.
Sourwood:  Smokey, bluish color, very tangy, definitely should be tasted by
any honey connoseur.  But be careful; a lot more sourwood is sold than
produced.
Gallberry:  Very light, mild flavor; has a slight "edge" that I don't
personally like, but, again a lot of folks do.  We bottle together with
blackberry, calling it berry blossom, and the blackberry definitely
predominates.
Poplar  (Yellow or tulip):  Nearly black, reddish in strong light.  Ugh!
  Very strong, sharp flavor, loved by those who grew up on it.
Privit:  Nearly black, very rich and buttery taste.  In pure form too strong,
but blended, as it usually is, is naturally quite nice, but hard to sell.
Goldenrod/astor:  Fairly light if there is a good flow, dark if it dribbles
in, very nice spicy taste.  Never could figure out why gov't thought this was
"non-table" grade.
Anise Hyssip:  A wild herb that makes a medium to dark, licorice flavored
honey.  I wish I could get more; most is used on spring buildup.
 
Others:
Orange blossom (includes all citrus):  Florida,  medium to light color, very
orangy taste. A very nice honey.
Palmetto:  SE coast  Medium, slightly reddish.  Mild flavor, too mild for me.
Brazillian Pepper:  FL     My vote for most awful.
Avocado:  FL  dark amber, unique taste I can't describe, anyone want to try.
 A good honey, but probably not a great honey.
Raspberry:  Catskills and Berkshires, a medium light, nice fruity honey.
 Probably nearly indistinguishable from Blackberry.
Clover:  True clover on a high lime soil has a real nice tangy flavor.  What
is labeled clover in the supermarkets is too much like corn syrup for me.
Basswood: Very minty, delicious, especially if blended a bit with clover.
 Gets very sharp and unpleasant if overheated just a little.
Apple blossom:  Hard to make, as bees use most in buildup, but a very nice
fruity honey.
Cherry blossom:  I sure wish I could get commercial quantities of this.  I
have tasted it once (from my own bees - black cherry ) and it was pure
HEAVEN. Fabulous cherry taste.
Buckwheat:  I grew up on this, so I'm biased.  Dark, tarry looking, but
absolutely delicious!   If it is too strong, can be blended down with a mild
honey, but I wouldn't do it for myself.  Unfortunately a lot of beekeepers
dump the honey from the capping melter into the buckwheat batch, and that
sure spoils it in a hurry.  I can't describe the flavor.  If you have ever
had buckwheat pancakes, you can get an idea.
Japanese Bamboo:  A wild buckwheat that grows along river bottoms in the NE,
it is milder in flavor than regular buckwheat, and very delicious.
 
   Of course varietal honeys vary from year to year, and place to place.
 
   Your votes and comments?
 
[log in to unmask]    Dave and Janice Green,  PO Box 1200,  Hemingway,  SC
29554
 
Practical Pollination Home Page
http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html