Review: Bee Dolce Hot Honey
Bottom Line: The Hot Honey from Bee Dolce has a distinct richness and complexity that makes it stand out, and it certainly delivers on the heat.
Hot honey seems to be everywhere these days as the “swicy” trend (sweet and spicy) continues to prove popular with consumers. Mike’s Hot Honey is the one we see the most, as they partner with just about every willing company to get their name out there. But there are plenty of other companies making the stuff, including some craft producers.
One of these is Bee Dolce, which is a relative newcomer to the scene. The company was started in 2024 by two Italian-American moms, and according to them, their honey is “born from passion and purpose” with “a simple love for spicy foods—we wanted the perfect balance of sweetness with a sting.” Full disclosure: They sent me a bottle of their honey to try out, but I really enjoyed it and will be ordering it from them again.
Now, typically, you might think that honey tastes like honey tastes like honey. But I can tell you that there is something about a quality product, and Bee Dolce uses a dark wildflower honey that adds a nice richness and makes this stand out from the average bottle of on the shelves.
As for the spicy part, the main ingredient that kicks this stuff up is Calabrian chili powder. I have become quite a fan of that Italian chili over the last few years (check out my review here), and while the distinctive taste of the pepper does not really stand out here, it certainly delivers a little extra flavor boost. And for more heat, they add in habanero chili powder and chili pepper extract, kicking things up to the next level. This also has garlic powder, and while I do not detect that on its own, it helps add to the complexity and richness of this honey.
As for the heat, this one definitely delivers. Many of the hot honeys out there have just a bit of a sting and only get to around Mild on my scale. But with this one, you feel that burn pretty quickly, and it lingers in the mouth for a while. I would put this close to Hot on my scale, and those who don’t care much for spicy things (we weep for them) may want to go easy on it.
On the bottle, they suggest using this with pizza, chicken wings, fish, cheese, eggs, salad, vegetables, fruit, ice cream (!), cocktails, and tea. All of those are fine, but there are plenty more uses as well. These days, I add Calabrian chilis to my Italian dishes on a regular basis, and this would be a good complement. Add this to a marinara or a tomato-based meat sauce to cut the acidity and bring just a little bit of sweetness. It would also be a good addition to an Alfredo sauce as well as a pesto, and I will probably be trying the latter pretty soon (keep an eye out for a recipe). They also have a few interesting recipes on their website, like Hot Honey Ribs, Hot Honey Lemon Sting, and Hot Honey Bacon Egg & Cheese Sandwich.
This sells for $13.99 for a 12 oz. bottle, which is not bad for a craft product like this (that’s about the same as the full retail price of a bottle of Mike’s Hot Honey). You can buy it from Amazon.com, and you can also order it directly from their website, where they have larger sizes available (up to a 12-gallon container!) as well as individual-sized packets. Hot honey is something I keep in the pantry all the time now, and if you are going to have some, it certainly makes sense to get a quality product like this.
Nutrition Info:
Ingredients: Dark Wild Flower Honey, Calabrian Chili Powder, Habanero Powder, Garlic Powder, Red Chili Extract.
Serving Size: 1Tbsp
Calories: 60
Fat: 0g (0g Sat/0 Trans)
Protein: 0g
Carbs: 17g
Sodium: 0mg
