Readers of this blog know my focus here is on wine. Occasionally I write about travel and more recently about beer. I seldom write about spirits and have never written about water. I’m making an exception here for Blume Honey Water.
I recently attended a media preview event featuring the waters at Bittersweet restaurant in Denver’s West Washington Park neighborhood. The restaurant did a fine job showcasing the waters in several cocktails and pairing them with three courses including cured wild trout, lamb bratwurst and a honey almond cake. Bar manger Nicholas Wermling described the challenge he faced in using the flavored waters in creating the cocktails.
Eiher Nick is a great bartender or Blume Honey Water is an unexpectedly successful cocktail mixer. I suspect both are true. Just read these recipes:
Blume-Me-Away: Ketel One vodka, Blume Blueberry Honey Water, St. Germain, blueberry jam, mint syrup
Bee Sting: Michter’s Rye, Blume Ginger Zest Honey Water, Nina amaro, lemon, ginger syrup, olive oil, activated carbon, egg white
Pollinator Punch: Centenario reposado, J.M. Rhum Agricole, Blume Vanilla Citrus Honey Water, orange juice, heavy cream, cinnamon-vanilla-almond syrup, bee pollen
Apart from its value as an ingredient in cocktails, the original purpose of Blume Honey Water is hydration. Co-founder Michele Meloy Burchfield, who previously spent nearly 15 years helping the Boston Beer Co. helping to build the Samuel Adams brand, pointed to a long history of honey water as a hydrating fuel, even back to the times of ancient Greece.
Co-founder Carla Frank expressed their excitement at bringing Blume Honey Water to Colorado. With previous experience in helping to launch Oprah Winfrey’s “O” magazine and time at Cooking Light and Glamour Italy, she said the waters currently are available in Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore. They hope to make the waters available in grocery stores, specialty food shops, coffee shops, and health clubs across the Front Range. Los Angeles will be next.
Burchfield said she and Frank spent two years studying bees, honey and its benefits, and experimenting with different ingredients and recipes in their kitchens. They are committed to making sure the waters are made with 100% bee-friendly, pure honey accented with only real fruits, herbs and spices. Working with local beekeepers, they even use a proprietary honey blend to avoid single sourcing and work only with the most passionately humane honey producers.
Such a producer is Highland Honey in Longmont. Beekeeper Tim Brod also spoke to us and it was obvious to me he has a passion for his work and the bees. Authenticity is critical, he said, which is why the honey is 100% raw and unfiltered.
The three flavors of Blume Honey Water – Wild Blueberry, Ginger Zest, and Vanilla Citrus – are light, aromatic and flavorful. They are an ideal alternative to the trendy overly sweetened, artificial drinks that today crowd the hydration/energy drink market.
All three Blume Honey Water flavors are sold in individual 10 FL oz. bottles for a suggested retail price of $2.49 each.
Get more information at https://www.blumehoneywater.com and https://highlandbees.com.