Honey Update
When we opened the doors to our first Distillery and Tasting Room in 2008, we knew that no matter what the future had in store, we were committed to craft methods and traditions. That meant (and continues to mean) distilling in small batches and having people make the decisions about what rum to keep and age and when it is ready to consume. It also meant an openness to evolution over time, as stills changed, demand grew, and factors we didn’t yet know came along.
One recent evolution involves a longtime ingredient in our rum: caramelized Colorado honey added to Montanya Platino, Oro and Exclusiva in very small amounts at bottling time. (Valentia has never had any honey.) As of summer 2021, we have ended this practice and wanted to take a moment to explain why we used honey and why we decided to stop.
Bottling Montanya Platino white rum.
Why We Added Caramelized Honey to our Rum
Despite common misperceptions, the honey wasn’t used as a sweetener. What many people don’t realize is that honey is acidic (it can have a pH level as low as 3.5 depending on the honey). In very small amounts—we’re talking less than .04% of a bottle of Platino or Oro and even less in Exclusiva—those acidic properties helped bring out the natural flavors of our rums. (By law we weren’t even required to disclose its use on the label—only ingredients that account for 2% or more of the rum must be listed. We just like to know what we’re drinking and figured our customers did too.)
Why We Stopped Adding Honey to Our Rum
For some time, our founder and owner, Karen Hoskin, has been considering ending the practice of adding honey to our rums. We’ve always ordered our honey from a Colorado company that works with local and regional beekeepers to source Colorado wildflower honey. They do a wonderful job of keeping things local, and we’ve always been happy with the product.
Over the past few years, however, increasing attention has been paid to the health of bee populations in Colorado. Stressors created by climate change and other factors are causing wild populations to decline. We also understand that managed honeybees (those kept by beekeepers) can add more stressors on wild bee populations through competition for resources. Quite simply, we don’t want to add to the challenges for such important pollinators.
Why We Don’t Need the Honey
The rum world has also changed over time. We see more and more interest in the principles we believe in: rum made from real, whole ingredients and nothing added. While we’ve never added sugar or anything artificial to our rums, we’ve observed that the presence of honey—even in such small amounts—confused some rum drinkers who prefer the purest rums they can find.
At the same time, we’ve also come to believe that the benefits of using honey are no longer significant enough to continue the practice. Thanks to how our distilling and aging practices have evolved over more than a decade, we’re able to create the rums and flavor profiles we love without the honey. As of Summer 2021, we are no longer adding it at bottling time.
A Closer look at sugarcane
benefits of Barrel aging