Ranking the Top 16 Hot Honey Brands from Worst to Best

Hot honey has been around for centuries, even though you may just be hearing about it now. Both Italy and Brazil have been infusing honey with chili peppers for hundreds of years, for culinary and medicinal purposes. While it was only widely introduced and gained popularity a little over a decade ago, hot honey has caught on fast, with brands quickly popping up all over the world. And there can be quite a difference from one selection to the next.

Where and what plants our pollinators visit can make a dramatic difference in the taste of honey. The kind of peppers used and the infusion process determine the flavor and fire of the heat. Without a little know-how and experience, choosing a good hot honey can be just as difficult as choosing a good bottle of wine. 

Thankfully, I’ve put some to the test. Tasting each one with two popular hot honey pairings, I compared the taste of the honey, the heat, and how the two were combined and ranked them accordingly. And I’m happy to say, no matter what your palate prefers, this list will have a hot honey for you.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Desert Creek’s hot honey is infused with chipotle morita and habanero peppers, which are used in this honey too heavily to be in any way pleasant. Upon first taste, my palate was assaulted by a medicinal cough syrup flavor made of pure fire! Its companion was sweet — too sweet. With the over-the-top performance of these two sensations, there was no way to derive any real profile. 

Something hot, just for the sake of being as hot as possible, is not something I want to incorporate into my food. It’s theatrical, nonsensical, and harsh to the palate. Knowing other honeys use the same peppers, I feel like the real culprits here are the creators themselves. And I don’t mean the bees.

Honey Feast makes this small batch honey, and several honey-related products from its protected apiary surrounded by orange and peach trees. The honey products created are prepared and shipped right there on the farm. What’s not to love?

Sadly, I can say it’s the hot honey. Infused with chili peppers, this spicy honey is more wounding than warming. The heat is like a blade, cutting and harsh. I found it impossible to get any sense of the honey’s flavor over the spice level. And the flavor of the heat is almost chemical.

While I would recommend supporting this lovely brand, I would try one of its other options. As far as the hot honey goes, I don’t believe it’s the company’s best in show.

Trejo’s Hot Honey comes from namesake Danny Trejo. The heat in this honey throws a punch that hits hard right in the back of the throat. Upon first taste, some sweetness spread across the palate. But it was only the slightest of moments before I choked on a cough and felt my windpipe seize. This hot honey seems to lean into the category of shock factor over flavor, and I am not a fan of that.

Although difficult, I proceeded to take a couple of bites. And while prepared for the onslaught of palatable pain, I searched for distinctive properties coming from the honey or the heat. I was unable to find anything of substance from either. Again, this one is a pass for me.

Bushwick Kitchen makes this spicy honey by combining U.S. and Argentinian wildflower honey and spicing them with habanero pepper. Although described as a spicy honey, I would categorize this more as a honey hot sauce. 

I feel like the bottle should have tipped me off that this one was different. It’s a twist-top, skinny nozzle that doesn’t allow for a lot to come through — and for good reason. You don’t need a lot as the heat is very high, but it isn’t unpleasant in the slightest. On the contrary, the Bees Knees is rather tasty.

Had I been ranking hot sauces, I would have put this at the top of the list. Unlike many other hot sauces I’ve had, this didn’t have the thick with spice, chewy texture, or astringent quality that I dislike. I will be keeping this around and using it more like a hot sauce. You may want to give this sweet heat a try.

Much like the creation from Bushwick Kitchen, Bachan’s Hot Honey wasn’t exactly what I would categorize as a hot honey. Nonetheless, it still incorporates the two profiles well and is worth giving a try.

Aptly named, this Japanese barbecue sauce delivers exactly what it advertises. The flavor profile is rich and carries equal parts sweet, spicy, and savory. The heat comes from habanero, while the sweet makes its way via organic honey. The savory taste seems to be more from the original Bachan’s recipe and includes soy sauce and ginger. 

Each profile is expertly balanced and complex. Although I don’t think I will be drizzling it across a biscuit again, I can see using it as a marinade for chicken or shrimp. It would also be a great sweet heat addition to rice or noodles.

Red Clay Hot Honey is made with 100% pure wildflower honey infused with habanero peppers. Wildflower honey is something I find delightful, as it opens up a whole world of possibilities when it comes to flavor profiles. And Red Clay is a perfect example of this, as you can almost taste the bouquet of what the pollinators were buzzing about.

Upon first taste, this honey seemed to blossom in the mouth with a very soft floral essence — honeysuckle, lavender, rose, perhaps. It was both uplifting and refreshing. It was such a complex, yet beautiful, starting point.

The floral aspect gives way to a sense of heat, followed by the lush taste of honey, and then back to heat, which continues to escalate. This built to a level of intensity I was not prepared for and left my mouth feeling ablaze for quite some time. While it was delicious in all the right ways, it was just a little too hot for me.

Fischer’s iconic Arkansas honey has been under its flagship name for quite some time, although the hot honey was only recently introduced. And if you are a honey lover hesitant about taking the plunge into heated territory, I think this would be a great place to start. 

A very distinct, raw honey flavor is first and foremost in this selection, with a straight-from-the-hive richness and texture that clings to the palate. The heat, on the other hand, is but a quick whisper. Spiced with a water-based pepper extract, the heat in this honey gives only the slightest appearance to the taste buds and then leaves quickly, not to attract too much attention. It is so faint that if you weren’t looking for it, you may miss it altogether.

Don’t get me wrong, the low heat isn’t a complete turnoff. While I don’t believe it’s going to be the hot honey for everyone, I see the appeal. For a delicate palate looking for adventure, here you go! I prefer a bit more heat and don’t mind if it stays for a short visit.

When I first tasted Kelley’s Hot Honey, it reminded me very much of Fischer’s Hot Honey. With a little digging, I found that they are part of the same family that falls under the umbrella of Hive to Table Honey Farms. So, if you like Fischer’s honey, you will most likely enjoy Kelley’s as well.

Made by Texas bees, this honey offers a very similar, rich flavor. The difference that I did notice is that the heat from the chili pepper is a step up, perhaps because it doesn’t seem to be an extract. But while this honey has a more powerful kick than the one before, it still stays pretty low, is quick, and doesn’t linger.

This is a fun tabletop honey that I would expect to adorn restaurant tables in Texas. And while tasty, neither the honey nor the pepper reaches the fullness of the higher-ranked ones.

Another hot honey under the Hive to Table umbrella, Jamie’s sets itself apart with the flavor of its honey. Unlike the two others, Jamie’s came across as more of a wildflower honey with a floral essence in its profile. The honey has a deep, rich flavor with a sweetness that isn’t overpowering and clings to the palate in a delightful way.

The taste of the extra hot pepper is surprisingly subtle, but just as described on the bottle. The heat is a bit of a blush that fills the mouth and stays balanced beside the sweetness. It’s a slow burn that flourishes just a bit before leisurely taking its leave.

I feel like this is still low enough on the heat scale to not scare off newcomers. And the gradual approach of the heat allows the taster to prepare for full acceptance.

Mike Kurtz learned about hot honey while studying in Brazil and brought the concept back to a stateside pizzeria. And it is because of Mike’s Hot Honey that we find ourselves in the hot honey craze we have today. The brand claims it is the No. 1-selling hot honey nationwide. And while good, I didn’t find it to be the best of what I tasted.

On the first bite of the biscuit, I tasted a surprising tang that I suspect comes from the vinegar in the ingredients. Drizzled over the chicken, the initial tang takes a backseat to the other flavors present.

As far as heat, there is almost a bee-like sting to it that I found rather unique. It’s a very palate-pleasing experience. The heat level stays in the low to medium range, and the honey is rich and perfectly paired with the heat experience. I can see how this started such a flavorful fuss.

Zab’s Hot Honey is a unique product in this arena. Unlike others that get different flavors from the flora of the pollinators, Zab’s made an interesting choice with its heat source. This hot honey uses a pepper you are very unlikely to find in any other product out there — the datil pepper.

Similar on the Scoville scale to the habanero, the datil pepper is very rare, but grows in abundance in St. Augustine, Florida, where Zab’s is located. While the origin of the pepper in the area is a bit mysterious, it is much beloved and highly celebrated by the locals.

The honey itself has a sweet, rich, almost maple flavor. And just beyond that, the heat of the pepper pops on the palate and then slowly fades into the background. The heat level stays at a medium-low burn, making it very easy to eat with an enjoyable wave of heat.

Savannah Bee Company’s hot honey uses a wildflower honey that is subtly sweet with a complex floral bouquet. Spicing the sweetness are scotch bonnet and habanero peppers, which offer a unique taste experience. The heat moves across the tongue with a warming sensation that continues down the throat and into the chest. And the sweetness stays well-balanced throughout the journey.

By combining multiple peppers and an array of floral notes into this selection, this honey seemed to introduce a new level to this list. The full flavor is transportive, taking the taster from a simple tabletop to a field of flowers on a sunny spring day, flushing the cheeks and filling the senses. 

Delicious on both chicken and biscuits, I feel it would also nicely spice up many other things. With the way it warms the throat and the chest, this would be a great restorative addition to hot tea during cold months. 

Honey House offers what I would categorize as a gourmet hot honey. The clover honey itself is sought out and gathered from the best-tasting, generationally owned apiaries located across the country. And the quality comes through in the taste.

The honey itself seems to have hints of cinnamon and sugar that feel familiar in a cozy and comfortable way. The sweetness from the honey and heat from dried peppers blossom in unison, giving the palate a warm pool of all the flavors. The medium level heat of the peppers move slowly around the mouth and entices every taste bud.

My eyes closed heavily with each bite of this decadent treat. Without any pairing, this rich, earthy hot honey is divine on its own, even if just by the spoonful. And that is a first for the honeys on this list.  

Moving up another notch in artful intensity, AR’s Hot Honey brings with it even more heat, flavor, and complexity. Combining both wildflower and clover honeys, the flavor profile allows the taster to envision the plush fields and scattered wildflowers involved in the creation. 

The sweet honey flavor holds gentle, floral aspects that tease the palate and rich buttery notes that broaden the profile. The heat of the habanero peppers has a slow, dramatic build that takes you to the edge of intense without falling over. And the warmth lingers slightly at the back of the palate before leaving cleanly without argument.

This hot honey lends itself to a category I would reserve for special occasions, but there is no need. Carrying a price tag that rivals any top-shelf condiment, this honey begs to be put to work every day. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, or dessert, it’s time to spice up your life!

Spicy Shark brings another variety of honey to the mix in this selection. Combining clover, alfalfa, and goldenrod honeys in this delectable creation, the depth of this flavor profile is truly robust. 

Steeped with cinnamon and then infused with habanero, I was surprised that neither heat nor sweetness was the first taste to come through on the palate. Instead, a warm caramel, hinting at fruit and carrying aspects of floral, prepared my tongue for the sugary warmth that followed. The honey appears quickly thereafter and is so rich you can almost taste the comb. And then the heat blooms in level after level, staying at a medium burn. 

This savory concoction could headline an entire feast as it seems to be almost a feast of its own. It was almost too much to imagine hot honey could get any better, but then it did.

Creating a twist unlike any other honey on the list is Björn’s Sweet and Spicy Colorado Honey. A collaboration between Björn’s whipped wildflower honey and Colorado neighbor Jojo’s OGX Red Jalapeño Sriracha, this is a sweet and spicy blend you simply must try.

Its complex blend of wildflower honey and red jalapeños is expertly balanced and playful to the eyes and the palate. There is a sting to the heat that is effervescent in the mouth, making the sriracha sparklingly clever on the tongue with a distinct flavor of jalapeño. 

The honey is highly rich, floral, and sweet, and doesn’t let the heat steal the show. With a personality all its own, notes of butter and caramel reach out to meet and dance with its hot counterparts. With just one bite, all of the senses get tickled with this one as it moves gracefully around the palate.

The voluminous taste of this hot honey, paired with the visually pleasing flecks of pepper and the golden-red hue from the sriracha and honey combination, makes this an unbeatable pairing in all categories. Every aspect that goes into a proper, palatable experience was factored into this creation and captured beautifully.  

Separated into the two different brands, I feel the sriracha and honey would be incredibly pleasing. But putting them together was pure genius. 

I started out simply looking for a palate-pleasing honey with a heat that wasn’t too low or over the top. I wanted to taste and enjoy both, and was not prepared for how intricate this ranking would become. I took time to let my palate cool between tastings and tried every honey with chicken, a plain biscuit, and then on its own. I would stay away from the lower-ranked honeys.

A couple of the hot honeys seemed to be mismatched and possibly improperly categorized, at least as far as this list goes. Those are the ones that fall next on the list. And while not exactly what I was looking for, they are still well-made, tasty, and worth trying.

Once I found what I was initially seeking, I started ranking them as far as heat level was concerned. But it wasn’t long before the complexity in flavor profiles and delivery of heat became so well executed and beautifully crafted, it was like curating art.

Starting near the middle of the list, the hot honeys become niche and sophisticated, with one honey only being ranked over the next due to sheer brilliance of components and execution of sweet heat combinations. As I reached the top contenders, I also reached new flavor profiles unlike any I had ever had — each one more complex than the next.

Like I said, there is something on this list for everyone. Whether you want to give hot honey a try or dive into the world of honey connoisseurs, stick with the top 10. You won’t be disappointed.