8th Annual Black Jar | 2019 Contest Results
This year’s Black Jar Contest was a success and the long-awaited Grand Prize for the World’s Best Tasting Honey was respectfully awarded on June 13th, 2019!
Congratulations to Chris Beck for enduring the comprehensive judging and coming out on top in this year’s competition. It’s an impressive feat, and his name will grace the “World’s Best Tasting Honey” trophy until 2020 when a new champion may take his place.
Don’t forget this is an annual process. We have already received entries for next year. As the contest grows, so does the Grand Prize. Cash awards are funded by the $10 entry fee and sale of the unopened labeled honeys. This year’s International Black Jar Grand Prize will increase to $3500!
This year we had a packed house in the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Asheville. Guests sampled unique honeys from around the world and enjoyed live music, appetizers and drinks, while quietly and meticulously, ten celebrity judges focused on selecting the winners in ten judging categories. Those winners moved ahead, neck-and-neck, for the Grand Prize. Since the honey jars were covered in black cloth during the judging process, the categories and results were not revealed until judging was complete.
- Grand Prize: Chris Beck, Breckenridge, Michigan, U.S.A.
- Central U.S. Region: Kevin & Cheri Settle, Farmington, Missouri, U.S.A.
- Canada: Ken Coyle, Kitchner, Ontario, Canada
- Northeast U.S. Region: Allen Gilbert, Delevan, New York, U.S.A.
- Dark Honey: Dr. Gökhan Aydoğdu, Istanbul, Turkey
- Southwest U.S. Region: Lance Wilson, Austin, Texas, U.S.A.
- Pacific West U.S. Region: Loreli Fister, Corvallis, Oregon, U.S.A.
- European MonoFloral: Klaas Sluiman, Netherlands (“Sea Lavender”)
- Club Champions: David Smith II, Emporium, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
- Southeast U.S. Region: Virginia Webb, Clarkesville, Georgia, U.S.A.
- Wide World: Nathan Organ, New South Wales, Australia
- Jennifer Allard, Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S.A.
- Rene’-Paul Carrupt, Muraz, Switzerland ( “Le Coquet”)
- Ronald Chess, Cat Springs, Texas, U.S.A.
- Annie Dawson, MacGregor, Texas, U.S.A.
- Benjamin Pallares, Verea, Galicia, Spain
- Deborah Griffith, Newland, North Carolina, U.S.A.
- Enrico Pinna, Florence, Italy (“Strawberry Tree”)
- Mario Sanchez, Herraro Valencia, Spain (“Rosemary”)
- Chris Shad, Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.A.
- Sylvain Segard, Prince Edward, Ontario, Canada
- Myra Smith, Hughes Springs, Texas, U.S.A.
- Mike Stoneman, Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.A.
- Jeffrey Thomas, Delanco, New Jersey, U.S.A.
- Manuel Valido Martel, Telde, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
- Darcy Van Winkle, Port Angeles, Washington, U.S.A.
- Wayne Vancleave, Milton, Florida, U.S.A.
- Louise Yates, Kronau, Saskatchewan, Canada
- Eugene Zuspan, Dos Palos, California, U.S.A.