Killer Bee

Fermented from genuine Killer Bee honey, this unique spirit is distilled to suggest a distinct honey character. Straight or mixed, it is in a class by itself!

Being mead makers here at Windsor Run, it’s just reasonable that our Killer Bee would be the next logical step. As our meads found a welcome home with the Viking, Renaissance, and ye olde Pirate loving crowd, it also appealed to beer drinkers, thus opening up our market to new audiences normally not that exposed to the world of wine. Our wine tasting visitors likewise reacted favorably to Mead’s favorable qualities, and as such, our Meads have been a critical part of our unique beverage portfolio.

While tasting the fruits of our labor one day, the question was put forth, “I wonder what it would be like if this mead were to be distilled?” Well, the proverbial gauntlet had been thrown down…and the challenge was accepted. The results were promising—something akin to wading in a stream and upon looking down, and discovering a gold nugget.

During a research and development session, the idea of making the mead to be distilled from genuine Africanized “Killer Bee” honey, and calling it Killer Bee seemed a no brainer, and once the idea was crystallized, it very soon became the proverbial snowball rolling downhill. The search was exciting as the find. Yes, Killer Bee honey could be obtained, so it most certainly was, and one of the perks was we didn’t have to harvest it ourselves. To our understanding, Killer Bees are still rather deficient in the sense of humor department.

Many distillation experiments were undertaken to get the liquor “just right.” Our intent was to craft a straight, sipping spirit with pleasant honey characteristics, while purposely avoiding making a sweet liqueur, like many of our brothers in the whiskey trade offer—not that there is anything wrong with them; there are several of which we enjoy. But being who we are, we just had to be different!

What finally emerged was a quite smooth liquor, bearing a distinct honey aroma, and a subtle honey flavor, which is altogether pleasant by itself in a glass or snifter, while remaining an interesting and highly flexible mixing option. Like we say, “Don’t fear the sting.”

$38.35

Available at WRC Distillery and select NC ABC stores