Justin Hill: Eastaboga Bee Company (Eastaboga, AL)

The Southern Fork

It takes close to 1200 bees to make a 16-ounce jar of honey. Each one of those bees, through its choice of flower nectar, contributes to the unique flavor profile of a honey, a profile that can vary season to season, even if the location of the hive remains the same. That unique character -- the literal taste of a place -- is only preserved if the honey arrives to your kitchen pantry 100% raw, and for many cooks and chefs in Alabama, some of the best tasting and highest quality raw honey is produced by Eastaboga Bee Company. Beekeeper Justin Hill comes from a long lineage of farmers, and when he took up keeping bees a few years ago to diversify his farm, he really got bit by the beekeeping bug. He’s now one of the largest honey producers in the region, and you can find Eastaboga Bee Company honey on some of the best menus in the state. It tastes like sweet, liquid sunshine on the rolling Alabama fields in summer, pure liquid gold.