Every December, from around the first week of the month, I get a steady stream of messages asking the same thing: is there still honey? What should I get? Can I collect at the weekend? So I wrote this as a plain answer to those questions - what’s available, how to order, when to collect, and a few ideas for using heather honey at Christmas that you might not have thought of.
If you want to give a honey gift this Christmas - one jar, traceable to one address, from one harvest - here is how it works at Peninsula Honey.
What Is Available at Christmas
The range at Peninsula Honey is four jarred honeys and, when the season has been kind, comb honey.
Clear honey is the everyday golden runny jar - bright, mild, and the most accessible of the four. Most people start here. It suits spreading, stirring into drinks, and anyone who has grown up with a standard honey but wants something that actually tastes of somewhere.
Soft set honey is the same honey as the clear jar, slowly crystallised into a smooth, spreadable texture. It does not pour, but a spoon glides through it. Great for toast, for people who find runny honey messy, and for children.
Heather honey is the one people tend to seek out once they know it exists. It comes from bell heather on the Cooley slopes and has a bold, aromatic, almost port-like character unlike anything you get from a blended supermarket jar. It is dark amber and pours and spoons like any raw honey, and heat dulls its aromatics, so the best uses are cold. More on that below.
Ivy honey sets hard and pale. It is mild with a faint menthol edge, harvested in autumn from the ivy that covers much of the lower Cooley landscape. It looks striking in the jar - much lighter than people expect honey to be. Ivy honey sets the way it does because of its high glucose content, which crystallises fast and firm.
Comb honey - sections, cut comb, chunk - comes when the season allows. It is not always available at Christmas. If you want it, ask early.
Getting Your Order in on Time
Peninsula Honey is a solo operation, not a factory. There are a finite number of jars from each harvest and no restocking mid-season. That is what a batch number on the label actually means: when it is gone, it is gone until next year.
For Christmas, the practical advice is simple: order by the first week of December. Later than that and the most popular varieties - heather honey especially - may be sold out. I do not hold stock back, so I cannot promise what will be available the longer you wait.
Collection is by arrangement from Mullabane, Carlingford, and at local markets in the area. There is no national shipping. If you are coming from Dublin or further, a trip to Carlingford in December is not a bad excuse - the village is genuinely lovely in the run-up to Christmas.
Choosing What to Give
If you are buying for someone who has not tried single-origin Irish honey before, a jar of clear honey is the safe start. It is familiar enough to not feel challenging and different enough to be noticed.
If the person you are buying for is a cook, or curious about food, or someone who reads the label on everything, go for heather honey. It will surprise them. The difference between Irish single-origin honey and the blended jar from a supermarket is clearest with a variety like heather - there is nowhere to hide and nothing to dilute it.
For a gift that covers more ground, a selection of two or three different varieties works well. Tasting them side by side - the pale, firm ivy against the golden soft set against the dark, dense heather - tells the story of the peninsula across one season better than anything I could write on a label.
If you want to know which variety suits a particular taste, this guide to choosing your first jar runs through the full range in plain terms.
Heather Honey at Christmas: Three No-Cook Ideas
Heather honey is best served cold or at room temperature. Heat reduces the aromatics that make it worth buying in the first place, so Christmas baking is not where it shines. These three uses need no cooking.
Cheese board. Spoon heather honey into a small dish alongside aged Coolea or a sharp Irish cheddar. The honey’s bold flavour holds up against strong cheese in a way that a mild runny honey does not. It also looks good on the board - dark amber with that thick, almost set texture.
Whipped cream or mascarpone. Stir a spoonful of heather honey through lightly whipped cream or mascarpone, then serve with Christmas cake, scones, or poached pears. The honey ripples through rather than blending in, so you get pockets of flavour.
Drizzled over blue cheese on crackers. A strong Cashel Blue or Wicklow Blue with a small amount of heather honey spooned over the top is one of the simplest things you can put out for guests. The bitterness of the cheese and the aromatic sweetness of the heather honey balance each other. No cooking, two minutes of assembly, and it genuinely impresses people.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you ship for Christmas? No. Peninsula Honey is sold direct for local collection only - at Mullabane, Carlingford, and at markets in the area. There is no postal or courier service.
What if the variety I want is sold out? Stock is limited by the harvest, not by production decisions. If a variety sells out, it is gone until the following season. The best way to secure what you want is to get in touch early - the first week of December at the latest, and earlier if you can.
How long does the honey keep? Raw honey kept in a sealed jar at room temperature keeps for a long time - practically indefinitely if stored properly. The main thing to know about storage is to keep it away from moisture and direct heat. Crystallisation is not a sign of anything wrong.
Can I give comb honey as a gift? Yes, and it is a striking thing to receive. Comb honey - sections, cut comb, chunk - is available when the season allows. It is not guaranteed at Christmas, so ask when you make contact.
If you are planning a Christmas order, the best thing to do is get in touch early and tell me what you are looking for. You can see the full range and find contact details here. Everything is collected direct from Carlingford.