Mead is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented honey that’s been produced by our ancestors for thousands of years. Mead is available in many different strengths and flavours. Sweet or semi-sweet meads are usually best served with cheeses and desserts. In contrast, lighter textured meads are perfect on their own or as an aperitif. How Is Mead Made? Lightly spiced and peppery on the opening, the sweetness of honey explodes mid palate. The finish is long and sweet. This lush, full of flavour traditional mead is satisfyingly tasty and aromatic. Best Served Blended with natural honey, cranberry juice, ratafia and herbs, the mead has a unique balsamic flavour. The gentle spiciness and zesty cranberry notes are toned down by the sweetness of honey, producing a well balanced, semi-sweet balsamic mead. Best Served Inspired by the story of red-headed pirate Anne Bonny, born near the Old Head cliffs of Kinsale, the Wild Red Mead is made using the highest quality natural ingredients coming from various botanical sources. Traditional Mead is made only with honey is classified as unflavoured and comes in three varieties; dry, semi-sweet and sweet.

It is positively sweet on the palate, however the caramel body carries it well to a balanced, warming meaddrink. Foodpairing Zalgiris Balsam Mead is the most potent mead within the range, which is mixed with ethyl alcohol and distilled, producing 75% strong balsam mead. Taste Notes Our personal favourite pairing for a robust, Scottish mead is of course as a dessert wine with cranachan at the end of a BurnsSupper! Where tobuy

Method

I first encounted this mead at a “Highland Village” component of the Christmas markets in Edinburgh. The German side of the markets closed up by Christmas Day, but the Highland side stayed open right up until midnight on Hogmanay. It was served warmed and this is a drink that does well served warm in theWinter. Appearance Metheglin is a type of mead made by blending unflavoured honey mead with spices and herbs, similar to the spice used for mulled wine. Again there are a number of subcategories: The Virginia Reservoir distillery then performs the fascinating process of distillation for a perfectly balanced and purified mead. Typically 12% ABV the honey elixir has become a super-strong 50% mead, preserving the flavour and aroma. Taste Notes Zalgiris Mead is crafted using natural, locally sourced organic ingredients. It is traditionally made from fermented honey and water with added herbs, fruits or berries and brewed between 15 to 24 months, depending on the desired strength. Melomel is the main term given to mead blended with fruit. Depending on the fruit it’s made with, falls into further subcategories:

Founded by Kate and Denis Dempsey, Kinsale Mead Co is the first meadery in Ireland in the last 200 years. Established in 2016 it follows old medieval processes combined with the new, modern techniques to produce this delicious ancient drink. Honey mixed with caramel, water and yeast creates well balanced, smooth, warming palate. Silky to taste, the mead is not overly sweet and has a hint of dry notes, followed by a mild floral aroma lingering in the air. Best Served With dedicated mead bars popping up across some of the biggest cities around the world, this medieval drink is well promising to stay. Sweet, floral honey with a hint of caramel is presented inside the striking blue colour slim bottle. Best Served The colour is a deep burnt orange colour hinting at caramel in the taste. There are strong legs on the glass from the relatively strong 14.6% ABV. Despite the robust colour, there is a pleasant translucency as the light shinesthrough. Nose

Ingredients

Since the winery is now fully owned by Lyme Bay Winery, it is tempting to mark this as an English mead as well as a Scottish mead. We’ve kept it as just Scottish for now given its history, but feel free to discuss this in thecomments! Traditional Mead, as the name suggests, is crafted with fermented honey mixed with water and yeast. Following old recipes and the new, modern techniques the mead is made using raw, locally produced honey. Taste Notes