"Honey is a ubiquitous flavor that everyone understands, even if it's actually quite a polarizing ingredient. You tend to either really like it or not," says Tom Warner, founder of the U.K.-based Warner's Distillery, makers of a Honeybee Gin launching in the U.S. later this year. "But it's certainly versatile - it goes especially well with dark spirits, but then works as a botanical in gin. And if you see 'honey' on a bottle label you can't always assume that will mean the drink will be sweet. Honey can bring floral notes, too."
"Growing up around winemaking, the bit I always found so compelling - and why I think wine is so popular - is that lovely French word terroir. But it sort of encompasses all the different environmental variables that make up wine. I just found that concept so interesting. I was wondering what would happen if you tried to apply that to a spirit and thought gin is such a good vehicle for complex flavor."