Our Story

Two people. One barrel. A better honey.

Barrels & Honey began at Bacardi, where co-founders Jaymee Mandeville and Oscar Garza first crossed paths leading trade education on barrel aging. Jaymee was building brands. Oscar was building the science. Both of us had spent careers obsessing over what happens when a great raw ingredient meets a great barrel and what kind of magic the right amount of time can unlock.

We kept coming back to the same idea. Everyone has tasted what a bourbon barrel can do to whiskey. Almost no one has tasted what a bourbon barrel can do to honey, done right.

So we built it. We hand-select ex-bourbon barrels from working Kentucky distilleries, fill them with 100% raw, USA-sourced honey, and let time do what time does. The result is a layered, complex honey with notes of vanilla, oak, caramel, and a whisper of bourbon. A finishing ingredient that belongs as much on a cheese board as it does behind a craft cocktail bar.

Meet the Founders

Oscar Garza, Co-Founder and CEO. A career beverage scientist with a background in R&D, innovation, and rum blending at Bacardi, Oscar is a recognized expert in maturation chemistry and barrel selection. He hand-selects every barrel that touches a jar of Barrels & Honey.

Jaymee Mandeville, Co-Founder and CMO. A spirits industry brand and marketing leader with deep experience building premium consumer brands, trade programs, and on-premise activations. Jaymee leads brand, distribution strategy, and growth at Barrels & Honey.

Why this matters

Most flavored honey on the shelf is infused, meaning honey that has had bourbon, smoke, or extracts added after the fact. Ours is barrel aged, the way bourbon itself is made. No additives. No infusions. Just raw honey, real barrels, and real time.

Barrel aged. Nature made.