Run by beekeeping couple Andre Cardona (also known as The Honeybee Man) and Jane Cardona, Cardona & Son Spirit Co aims to help the British honeybee population survive. In addition to creating and sustaining thriving habitats for bees, the pair also produces a range of spirits using raw honey, including Hitchin Honey Gin, Hitchin Honey Spiced Rum, and Elderflower & Borage Honey Gin – a brand new expression.
Based near Hitchin, Hertfordshire, Andre Cardona started beekeeping over 15 years ago after becoming fascinated with British honeybees, which are vital to both pollinate the food we need and as pollinators for much of the flora and fauna that provide habitats for other types of wildlife. This passion and knowledge has since been applied to Cardona & Son Spirit Co’s Hitchin Honey Spirits Collection, made using hand-harvested, hand-spun Cardona & Son raw honey. In addition to crafting these spirits, Cardona also hopes to educate people on the vital role played by bees when it comes to biodiversity and maintaining our planet.
On Cardona & Sons Spirit Co, Co-founder Jane Cardona said: “Our motto is ‘the more cocktails you sip, the more beehives we’ll build’. It’s a very simplified way of explaining what we’re doing, but in essence we use a percentage of the profits from the sales of the spirits to support local biodiversity projects, as well as continuing to build new hives & cultivate the raw honey. We want to create a long-term future for British honeybees with education, sharing our knowledge and through the delicious spirits made using the Cardona raw honey. If we all do our bit, then we can help make a big difference to the chances of the bees’ survival and create flourishing local environments that we can all enjoy. And who doesn’t love cocktails?”
For the launch of the new Cardona & Sons Spirit Co Elderflower & Borage Honey Gin, a percentage of profits from each bottle sold will be used to support local biodiversity projects, as well as continuing to build new hives and cultivate raw honey. Using locally foraged elderflower alongside borage honey, the gin is a London Dry style with a pale straw complexion. On the nose, cucumber and lemon notes are joined by some juniper presence alongside floral notes of elderflower and expected honey sweetness. Honey continues on the delicate palate with more borage than the bouquet, with additional cucumber and elderflower savours joining waxy lemon to complement the sweetness which lingers on the finish. Ideal in a classic gin and tonic or as the base of a French 75.
Cardona & Sons Spirit Co Elderflower & Borage Honey Gin is available to order from the brand’s website. £39.50, 70cl.
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