LET’S TALK HONey

A beekeeper woman with glasses and short brown hair smiling outdoors with a background of green trees and yellow flowers, holding a piece of yarn or twine and getting ready to move some beehives.

What Is World Bee Day?

World Bee Day – a celebration of the tiny creatures, held on 20th May. This special day was established in 2017, with the goal of raising awareness surrounding the issues with declining bee populations and the urgency to protect pollinators. As a result of climate change and other destructive factors, beekeepers are facing a huge issue with colony numbers falling at an exponential rate. This is why it was decided that we need a day to celebrate and raise awareness about bees and what we can all do to help.

A beekeeping setup with a smoker and hive boxes in a grassy outdoor setting surrounded by bushes and tall grass.

So Why Are We Celebrating?

Well, our Bruadar liqueur is hand-crafted with honey from beehives on site, making our liqueur naturally sweet as well as having huge environmental benefits for our farm. Not only would we be without Bruadar if bee populations crashed, but more importantly our food chain and biodiversity would be majorly impacted. With around 90% of plant species requiring pollination, this illustrates the significant role pollinators play and exactly why we all need to help protect them!

A person wearing blue gloves holding a frame filled with bees.

What Have We Done to Celebrate?

This year, we took the opportunity to make the most of our beehives and try to raise awareness about bee populations. We invited some guests along to the distillery and had a day of education, with delicious food and drinks. First, we put on some beautiful beekeeping costumes… where our beekeepers expertly took us through the amazing world of hives and bee societies. After all that work, we then headed over for some light refreshments and cocktails using Bruadar as an ingredient. If you want to try these at home, take a look at our cocktails and recipes pages and let us know if you tried them by using the hashtag:

#BRUADARBEEDAY

Two people in beekeeping suits inspecting a honeycomb frame with bees. One person is wearing a pink sleeve and the other a white suit with a logo, both with blue gloves.
Close-up of honeycomb frame with bees working on it.
Six glasses of granola on a wooden serving board with gold spoons surrounding it.

BEE-UTIFUL COCKTAILS

We asked Jack Jamieson, creator of @Scottishmixology to design some bee-themed cocktails in honour of World Bee Day. Take a look below for some tasty inspo!

HONEYMOON

A tropical cocktail drink in a tall glass garnished with a pineapple slice, cherry, pineapple leaf, and a small umbrella, with crushed ice and a green straw on a wooden surface.

Reminiscent of the tropical tastes in a piña colada, this honeymoon cocktail will make you dream of exotic locations. Rum, pineapple, lime, coconut, bruadar… a deliciously sweet combo. If you try any of our cocktails, be sure to tag us in them. Head to our cocktail page to see a step by step on how you can re-create this tasty tipple.

BEES KNEES

A cocktail in a coupe glass garnished with a lemon twist, sitting on a wooden surface with a blurred green plant and a bottle in the background.

This is our on take on the typical bees knees cocktail. A gin-based drink with honeyed elements make it the perfectly refreshing tipple for summer. Let us know if you re-create it by tagging us on social media.

Enjoy!

COLD-BRU

A bottle of Bruadar single malt scotch whisky liqueur next to a cocktail glass with layered drink topped with chocolate shavings, on a wooden surface with some scattered in the foreground, and a potted plant to the left.

This is one for our caffeine-obsessed. This serve is almost TOO easy to make and is the ultimate indulgence! Espresso, bruadar and foamer. The perfect pick-me-up for the weekend. Let us know if you make this at home. Head to our cocktail page to see how you can re-create it.

Support your local beekeepers by buying their honey instead of name brand items. This will help local businesses and in turn protect the pollinator population.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

Black background with a teal bee icon in the center.

You can help bee populations by planting bee-friendly plants and flowers such as daisies, clover and foxgloves. This will attract bees and encourage pollination.

Molecular structure diagram showing three interconnected hexagonal rings with labels for vertices including various chemical groups.

You can leave a small dish of water out for them as this will create a space for bathing and drinking. Hydration is key, especially in summer.

Minimalist line drawing of a bee with horizontal stripes and a large central circle on its body, set against a black background.

USEFUL LINKS


Poster for the 2022 World Liqueur Awards with bold black text on a yellow background reading '22 World Liqueur Awards, World's Best Whisky'.