Honey blocks don't cast shadows into surrounding blocks, unlike slime blocks. This doesn't seem to be a case of MC-139621, as the honey block renders as a full block (similar to soul sand, which was tracked in MC-177321 and fixed some time ago).
How to reproduce
Enable smooth lighting.
Place a honey block.
Notice how it doesn't create surrounding shadows.
Expected result
Honey blocks would cast shadows into other blocks, like the slime block.
Observed result
Honey blocks lack ambient occlusion, making some setups visually awkward.
Confirmed.