This is the first official entry into the Project: Taste the Honey.

A backyard Denver beekeeper responded to me by Twitter about a month ago after I had asked if anyone knew a local wine sommelier who could be interested in tasting honey like it was wine. Not only did she (her name is Holly) know someone in the wine world (and we’ll be doing a proper honey tasting with them next month…) but she also stopped our booth at the farmer’s market to do a honey swap. Holly makes amazing Linden honey, which much lighter in color than even our lightest Clover – and tastes totally different from anything that Grampa’s Gourmet makes.

Below is a re-post (with permission) from her blog:

“An Organoleptic Tasting”

Grampa’s Gourmet White Honey is a blue ribbon cuvée of mesquite and clover honeys. Like a new bag of sugar, it has a faint aroma of feet to it. (Seriously, when you open a 50lb. bag of sugar, it smells like feet.) ANyway, made in part using the Dyce method, then whipped, it is a sublime textural experience. Reminiscent of freshly made marshmallows, it is softly sweet and would be delightful on strawberries, but alas those are out of season now. In lieu, I recommend it on a bar of dark chocolate.

Their Seasonal Honey is a vintage 2009 Chamiso, pulled from the honeyteca reserve. (Yes, I made up a word there.) Driving around Colorado, you’ll see its floral source, Rabbitbrush, blooming singly or in drifts across the Plains. It seems to be the only plant that can shine in this heat and drought. Similarly, chamisa honey glows golden in the Mile High sun. It has a hint of burnt caramel on the nose but it’s not in the least bitter. Mildly sweet with a medium body, it’s equally comfortable in a cup of tea or with a hearty dark bread. The perfect garnish would be a local charcutier’s version of lardo di Ardo.

The Tamarisk Honey is the darkest and most complex of the trio we selected. With notes of molasses on the nose, the flavor is assertive yet not overwhelmingly so. The earthiness, and slight grittiness, of this one makes it good for savory applications. We found it happily married with Maytag Bleu Cheese, even sans pears.

The chunk honey we traded in was from our 2010 Summer Harvest. Extremely pale amber and almost as clear as water, it has a woodsy aroma and a smooth, mellow start with a distinctively minty finish – the giveaway that the informing floral source was Linden. I take it in my daily coffee or tea, and despite the heat, the apitherapeutic effects are noticeable. A lot less sneezing than in years past.

“Project: Taste the Honey” is a result of many conversations I’ve had this summer – with people I meet at the farmer’s market, other local beekeepers, as well as lots of people who are just passionate about food.

There seems to be a real disconnect between what honey is (totally amazing natural sweetener with endless distinct varietal flavors) and what too many people think honey is (generic yellow sugar substitute that comes in a plastic squeeze bottle).

The truth is that there isn’t just one “honey”. There are thousands varieties, based on flower sources, regions, etc. Here at Grampa’s we happened to make about 5 of the varieties that are unique to Colorado and New Mexico.

I want to change the way honey is viewed in the United States.

I want people to think of honey more in terms of wine (with it’s own “gout de terroir“), and when buying honey ask questions like “where does this honey comes from?” or “which variety of honey is this?”

And I want you to discover the small batch, traditional beekeepers in this country who are having to compete with the industry that has standardized their product to be able to sell it as cheap as sugar.

I’ve got lots of ideas about how to breathe life into this project and here’s a list of some planned activities:

• Raising awareness of the project at the La Petite Soiree at BlogHer Food 10′ in San Francisco by doing a honey give-away
• Raising awareness of the project with the sad, sad people :) of #BHF10PP by doing another honey give-away.
• Doing a “honey tasting” with Denver back-yard beekeepers. Blog post coming soon…
• Doing a formal “honey tasting” with a wine sommelier and wine instructor at the Cook Street School of Fine Cooking in Denver. I think this will result in a short video.
• Reaching out to local restaurant chefs to develop proper “honey pairings” with cheese and wine or host a “honey tasting party”. More on this later…
• Tentatively planning a “honey conference” in Denver for Fall of 2011. More on this later…

I welcome any/all ideas you might have in spreading this message.