INDIANAPOLIS – An already successful Indiana beekeeper has reached a higher level, perhaps, from winning over taste testers with his whiskey-flavored honey. The bourbon barrel honey from Bastin Honey Bee Farm in Knightstown is among the foods from Hoosier producers in this year’s Indiana Grown Holiday Gift Box.

“We’re pretty excited about it. It’s a pretty big deal,” said Joe Bastin, owner of the business he started in 2004 with just a few bee hives. He’s now one of the largest producers of honey in central Indiana with about 1,000 hives producing 60,000 to 70,000 pounds of honey each year.

Indiana Grown is an ongoing initiative by the Indiana State Department of Agriculture to promote Hoosier-made products and educate consumers on the importance of buying them.

Members of Indiana Grown include farmers, producers, processors and artisans as well as retailers, grocers, hospitals and restaurants.

Bastin said a six-ounce glass bottle of his honey aged in whiskey barrels was chosen for each of the 400 gift baskets available to purchase after submitting an application and samples of his bourbon barrel honey for tasting, as required.

He said the honey spends about four months absorbing the bourbon from the barrels made of wood prior to bottling.

He sells additional flavors of his honey at his farm store and roughly 20 other local retail locations.

The remainder is purchased by other producers to sell once their supplies run out.

Bastin was raising blackberries on what was then his parents’ farm when he acquired some bees to pollinate the crop. Eventually, he stopped raising blackberries and switched to making honey.

Another product included in the gift box is Bison Jerky made by a rancher in the northern part of the state with the meat from his herd.

Eric Horvath said he notified his wife as soon as he learned his barbecue-like flavored jerky was selected.

“It was pretty exciting,” he said.

Horvath keeps anywhere from 35 to 50 head at his Eel River Bison Ranch on 30 acres near South Whitley, about 30 miles west of Fort Wayne.

His animals are processed mostly into ground bison, bison patties, steaks and roasts offered at his farm store and other retailers throughout the state including Fresh Thyme markets.

The remainder of the meat is used to make Bison Jerky, summer sausages and bratwursts also available commercially.

Horvath said he hopes the additional exposure given to his jerky from the Holiday Gift Box will help to gradually increase his customer base and grow the herd to meet higher demand.

He developed the jerky to entice people who have never eaten bison before to try it, hoping it’ll lead to more purchases of his jerky and other products.

“We want to expand and draw more customers and get the word out that bison is good for you. Don’t be afraid of it. It’s a healthy alternative,” he said.

Just over a decade ago, Horvath was working in marketing and sales downstate when he acted on his longtime desire to be involved with agriculture in some capacity.

All it took was a client showing him a bull in his 5-acre backyard and revealing plans to add a few more to provide a healthy protein free of antibiotics and growth hormone to help his wife deal with an illness.

“I was just fascinated, mesmerized by how cool that bull was, and I thought that would be pretty cool to do,” he said.

Horvath said he did a lot of research on things like raising bison and bought a farm once used to raise corn and soybeans. He planted pasture grass in the fields and put up a fence and then brought in his first animals. Horvath said he uses strictly hay as feed to supplement the pasture grass eaten by his Bison.

The Holiday Gift Box started in 2023 with 200 sales reaching 21 states. All the boxes in 2024 were sold and shipped to 35 states. Up to 400 Holiday Gift Boxes are available to purchase this year.

“The Indiana Grown Holiday Gift Box is the perfect gift for folks looking to send a nice piece of ‘home’ to a loved one,” said ISDA Director Don Lamb.

Each box also includes:

- Tuxedo twist popcorn - Do Goodies - Valparaiso

- Fresco spice seasoning blends - Fort Wayne

- Peppered gold mustard BBQ sauce - JohnTom’s Barbecue Sauce - Muncie

- Sea salt caramels - Nashville Fudge Kitchen - Nashville

- Handmade artisan soap - Ollie Lue Soap Co. - New Castle

- Sugar cream pie filling mix - Rolling Pin Bakehouse - Roanoke

- Cinnamon roll protein bars - Timbar - Zionsville

- Christmas cookie scented candle - Middle Davids Artisan Candles - Franklin

“We have seen increased interest in this opportunity for our members and buyers, especially since each product is locally curated,” said Indiana Grown Director Caroline Patrick.

The boxes are $90, plus $10 for shipping, handling and taxes. For more information, visit https://in.accessgov.com/indiana-grown-store/Forms/Edit/indiana-grown-store/97ec78df-0346-43f1-8a44-66b36f15233c/1.