Longford business receives Great Taste award for their honey products

Abbeyshrule based beekeepers, The Farmhouse Bees and Trees Ltd, has been named among the top food and drink producers globally this year, picking up a highly prized 3-star Great Taste award for their Raw Ivy Blossom Honey and 1-star award for their Raw Summer Honey.

Pat and Fiona McCormack from The Farmhouse Bees and Trees Ltd were delighted with their success.

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“We are thrilled to have won a Great Taste award for our Raw Ivy Blossom Honey and our Raw Summer Honey. This is a moment we have only dreamed of and are so proud to be adding the prestigious black and gold Great Taste badge of honour to our honeys.”

Pat and Fiona started their beekeeping journey about six years ago, and they are grateful to the community in Abbeyshrule, and the wider community in counties Longford, Westmeath and Offaly, for their continued support.

They remarked, “Being recognised with a Great Taste 3-star and a Great Taste 1-star means so much to independent producers like us, as it makes all the hard work and determination worth it! Great Taste is the most recognised accolade for taste and quality in the food and drink industry, so it’s a huge milestone in our story!”

14,340 products were put through the competition’s rigorous blind judging process; and the Farmhouse Raw Ivy Blossom Honey was dubbed a “ honey has so much character and flavour we could readily eat it by the spoonful” at the world’s most coveted food and drink awards.

3,899 products were awarded a Great Taste 1-star – ‘food and drink that delivers fantastic flavour’, 1,508 were awarded a Great Taste 2-star – ‘above and beyond delicious’, and 273 were awarded a Great Taste 3-star – ‘extraordinarily tasty food and drink’.

Made by native Irish honey bees in September and October (all within 20 Kilometres of Abbeyshrule), the Farmhouse Raw Ivy Blossom honey and the Farmhouse Raw Summer Honey are two of 5,680 products to receive an award from Great Taste in 2025 (which is only 39.6% of the total products entered).

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The Farmhouse Raw Ivy Blossom Honey and The Farmhouse Raw Summer Honey is available from Longford Stewart family farm, Centra Ballymahon, Fernhill Garden Centre, Athlone, Wilder and Gold, Ballymahon, Whytes Supermarket, Legan, Elm Coffee, Granard, Hidden Corner Cheese Shop, Carrick- on-Shannon, Bonny Bo Milk Trailer Athlone and selected SuperValu Stores – Ballymahon, Longford, Lanesboro and Athlone.

For more information about The Farmhouse Bees and Trees Ltd, or to purchase online visit www.thefarmhouse.ie