For three hours, honey lovers from Mitchell, Avery and Yancey counties sampled and savored a dozen delicious kinds of honey, making their choice for the Toe Cane Beekeepers Association’s best honey for 2021.  The judging, which included both fellow beekeepers and members of the public, took place September 21 at the Homeplace Beer Company, a craft brewer in Burnsville, N.C.

Sometimes the differences were subtle; sometimes they were profound.  Some honeys were dark and flavorful, while others were light and citrusy.  The honeys came from farms, homesteads and from hobbyists, from bee yards on mountaintops and hives in valleys and hollows. 

Most voters circled the table, narrowing their choices down.  When the results were tabulated, the winners were:

• First Place was awarded to Michelle Mejia of Moral Bees for a Sourwood honey.

• Second Place went to Ed Geouge of Blue Rock Apiary.

• Third Place was a tie between Brinton McKinney of B-Lees Bees and Rick Harty of Harty Farm.

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all who stopped by and voted.