Moses Quimby kept 1,200 colonies of bees in the Mohawk Valley in the mid-1800s and invented the smoking can that beekeepers still use to this day when harvesting from the hives.   His honey would have stocked the shelves of William Beekman's original Mercantile.

One of our first "discoveries" at Beekman farm was an old apple tree on the border of the property into which a colony of bees had set up home.  We sat for hours wondering about the hidden queen ruling the kingdom from somewhere deep within the hollow trunk.

Now there are 40 bee hives at Beekman Farm, producing about 15,000lbs of honey a year.

Our Cinnamon Creamed is wonderful by the spoonful in coffee or tea and is delicious on toast and sandwiches.

It takes 648 bees to produce the 9 oz of sweet and savory goodness in each jar.

The Beekman bees think it's all worth it (and so do we)