BEAUTIFUL BEEHIVE STATE STORIES NOW

THE BEEHIVE STATE: UTAH

While we’re here in Utah for the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, we wanted to check out the special edibles and spirits that this beautiful state has to offer. And it’s all about the beehive!

The honey bee, Apis mellifera, is the official Utah state insect (Utah Code). It is significant in Utah history.

Mormon settlers called Utah "The Provisional State of Deseret." “Deseret” is a Book of Mormon word that means “honey bee.” The Mormons chose the symbolism to reflect the industrious nature of its followers, equating it with the busy nature of the bee.

Many Utah businesses include the word “beehive” in their name. There’s a beehive fountain in front of the Brigham Young Academy, in Salt Lake City. The Beehive Society is the oldest honor society on the University of Utah campus. Utah Freemasons also used the bee and beehive as symbols of cooperative work.

HONEY

While Utah is not the center of the beekeeping world, there are quite a few small independent producers throughout the state. Each region has its own flower population, so each produces honey with a unique set  of flavor notes.

There are a number of local honey producers in Utah and most will ship their sweet stuff anywhere, so check them out. Many are family-owned businesses.

STEMIES HONEY

Stemies Honey is one that has been producing honey for just about 10 years. It maintains 30 beehives that come from various locations throughout Utah. Each hive, populated with Italian bees, produces about 8 gallons of honey per year.

SLIDE RIDGE

Slide Ridge began many years ago when an 8 year old boy named Martin sparked a passion for honey bees. His family soon caught the buzz. They work together today to produce some mighty fine Utah honey and honey-based products, including a lovely line of artisanal Honey Wine Vinegars and apiary supplies.

GREAT BASIN SEEDS

For those of you who live in Utah, or in a similar climate, check out Great Basin Seeds for their beautiful Honey Bee Flower Mix so you can get your own taste of wild Utah honey right from your own backyard.

BEEHIVE DISTILLING

While Utah has spent much of its existence as a dry state, it now boasts some exceptional craft breweries and distilleries. Beehive Distilling is one we’ve come to love. They make hand crafted gins at their Salt Lake City distillery that are truly special.  

Beehive’s Jack Rabbit Gin is clean, complex, with a glorious burst of juniper and a proprietary blend of botanicals. But it’s Beehive’s Barrel Reserve Gin that is the most unique.

Using techniques developed by whiskey makers, Beehive Barrel Reserve gin is aged in hand-charred French oak barrels. The strong botanicals take on a perfumed smokey deliciousness that is beyond compare.

Piney notes of juniper combine with the vanilla finish from the oak are just amazing tasted neat. But Beehive Barrel Reserve Gin makes for some sophisticated cocktails too.

Read more about Beautiful New Stories in The Most Beautiful Films of 2017 Sundance Festival: Vol. 1 and Chasing Coral: A 2017 Sundance Film Festival BN Favorite.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by Kylir Horton. “Bee Face.” Draper, Utah.
2. Image: by Jon Sullivan. “Closeup of a bee flying.”
3. Image: Courtesy of Janie & Steve, Utah Trails. “Honey Bee on Apple Blossom.”
4. Image: by SiLver sKY. “Salt Lake City Temple Door Knob.”
5. Image: by James Marvin Phelps. “Utah Honey Bee & Thistle.”
6. Image: Courtesy of Stemies Honey. Honey bee flying to flowers.
7. Image: Courtesy of Stemies Honey.
8. Image: Courtesy of Slide Ridge. Martin James.
9. Image: Courtesy of Great Basin Seeds. “Honey Bee Flower Mix.”
10. Image: Courtesy of Beehive Distilling. “The Martini.”
11. Image: Courtesy of Beehive Distilling. Barrel Reserve Gin & Jack Rabbit Gin.
12. Image: Courtesy of Beehive Distilling. “Cocktail.”
13. Image: Courtesy of Beehive Distilling. “Cocktail.”
14. Image: Courtesy of Beehive Distilling. “Cocktail.”
15. Image by Annette Shade, editor of FOODLANDER. “White Lake Farms raw natural honey @ SLC Farmers Market Utah.” Salt Lake City, Utah.
16. Image: by BN App - Download now!
17. Image: by Travis Wise. “Sundance Film Festival.”