Wild Rose Honey, Golden Angels Apiary, Singers Glen, VA

My family did a road trip to the DC region recently and I picked up this wild rose honey at a local organic supermarket near Ellicott City, MD. It is produced by Golden Angels Apiary in Singers Glen, VA.

From a websearch I discovered that Dennis and Neva Whetzel are behind Golden Angels Apiary, and they produce a variety of honeys including: wild rose, clover, wildflower, tulip poplar, sourwood, thistle, and orange blossom.
 
Singers Glen, Virginia is a small, rural village with about 2500 residents located in the western part of Rockingham County in the Shenandoah Valley, 8 miles west of Harrisonburg, and also west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is basically one road, the Singers Glen Road, where you can find the post office, a recycling center, the Singers Glen school, the volunteer fire department, a few stores, and the Methodist and Baptist churches.

 
It was founded in 1804 when Joseph Funk, originally from Pennsylvania and the grandson of the first Mennonite Bishop of the United States (Henry Funck), built a log house there along with other descendents of the German Anabaptists who were persecuted during the European Wars of Religion. The community was originally called Mountain Valley but was renamed Singers Glen in 1860 when it got its first post office. Its claim to fame, and the reason its being a registered historic settlement, is that Joseph Funk printed and published the "Harmonica Sacra" in Singers Glen in 1847, a classic Mennonite hymnal that is still in use and in print today. As such Singers Glen is credited with being the birthplace of Southern Gospel music. Mr. Funk also started a singing school at Singers Glen and began training young men of "high moral character." Of interest, and perhaps in keeping with producing young men of high moral character, Singers Glen has more churches than commercial establishments, but if the truth be told, this may be due mostly to the lack of commercial establishments.  Also of interest, but mostly for archers, Singers Glen has a well established and family friendly archery club, the Bowbenders club: http://www.singersglenbowbenders.com/




The area surrounding Singers Glen is described as "beautifully scenic" and it isn't hard to see why.



 



The honey I have is wild rose. Wild rose actually refers to a variety of flowering shrubs including Rosa acicularis, Rosa arkansana, and Rosa virginiana (among others). Unfortunately the Golden Angels Apiary doesn't have a website, and I couldn't find out any more information about their production of their flower sources.

It is a clear, mellow orange-yellow honey with a very thin consistency. I was expecting (and hoping) for a floral rose flavor, but instead got a simple, strong, honey sweetness with no obvious floral or other undertones. Its flavor is consistent throughout with no changes in after taste.It is a good quality honey that offers honest to goodness honey taste. After repeated tastings I think I taste a very subtle molasses-black licorice flavor near the end, but it is VERY subtle and it may just be my imagination. This honey would do well in tea, in baking or anywhere else you need a robust honey taste.