‘Honey, It’s Barrel Aged!”

Ooni Pizza Ovens and Four Roses collaborate on honey.

Finally, a corporate mashup I’m excited about tasting!

Four Roses Distillery and Ooni Pizza Ovens have collaborated on an Ooni & Four Roses Bourbon Barrel Aged Honey.

According to a news release, the raw honey was harvested by Bohman Bee Company and aged in freshly dumped ex-Four Roses barrels that weren’t rinsed. The finished honey picked up notes of ripened red berries and dried spices that work well drizzled onto pizza and used in Four Roses cocktails.

Four Roses' lead mixologist Abby Martinie and Ooni's chefs created complementary cocktail and pizza pairings using the bourbon barrel aged honey.

You're missing out if you haven’t had honey drizzled on a pizza. Hot honey, as in spiced up rather than heated, is even better. It’s a simple combo of honey seasoned with finely crushed red pepper, sometimes smoked paprika and a little apple cider vinegar. (It’s warmed to help infuse the pepper flavor, then strained and placed into a squirt bottle.) Drizzling over a pizza it creates a fantastic flavor contrast for pies without red sauce.

Linking pizza and cocktails together is something I’ve never tried, partly since my hands are busy making pizzas, but also since beer and wine pair so reliably. Cocktails that tie them together … I’m really intrigued and will do that this week.

I love using honey in cocktails and on pizza. If you’re new to either, here are some tips for using both:

Cocktails

Placing straight honey into a cold liquid mixture makes it thick-thick. If you want the honey flavor to be intense (i.e., without turning it into a 1:1 syrup), add it to your room-temperature whiskey and stir well until combined. Then add ice and stir or pour into a shaker to finish. **That’s not instructed in the recipe below, though.

Pizza:

Not everyone knows not to apply honey to a pizza before baking. It’ll burn—especially in an 850 F Ooni oven—and ruin your pizza. Once the pizza is finished, you’re good to go. Since it’s sticky, it’s not a bad idea to cut the pizza into slices and then add the honey onto each slice to control the mess a little.

Pro tip:

Don’t pour it from the branded bottle as shown in the picture. Pour the honey into a squeeze bottle for precise control.

Four Roses Pineapple Bourbon Iced Tea

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 oz Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon
• 2 oz iced tea
• 0.75 oz Ooni & Four Roses Bourbon Barrel Aged Honey
• 0.75 oz fresh lemon juice
• 3-4 pineapple pieces
• Garnish: pineapple

PREPARATION
Muddle pineapple in a mixing tin. Combine all ingredients (except iced tea) in a mixing tin. Add ice. Shake for fifteen seconds or until the cocktail is properly diluted and well chilled. Add iced tea. Double strain into a glass over fresh ice. Garnish with pineapple.

Bonus points if you pair the above recipe with Ooni Honey-Glazed Ham Pizza*.

*Click the link above for the detailed recipe. This is the same web page as the cocktail above. Just scroll down a little.