Crafting Cocktails with Mead

By Sam Slaughter

You’ve seen Tyrion drink mead on Game of Thrones, and both Robin Hood and Beowulf have quaffed the ancient beverage on the big screen in the past few years, but did you know that mead-honey wine has been and is still the largest growing sector of the alcohol community?

With meaderies popping up in just about every state, the sweet wine drink is finding its way into more and more homes every month. The joy and the benefit of working with mead is, because honey is so receptive to other flavors, a mead cocktail can take just about any shape you can think of. In addition, there are several varieties of meads available on the market ranging from metheglins (spiced meads) to cysers (honey and apple juice fermented together) to melomels (fruit meads), and more.

Here are four easy-to-prepare cocktail recipes that utilize the sweet, syrupy flavors of mead.

Mead-a-Colada

Mead-a-Colada

Photo Courtesy of Amy Ellis Photography

Mead-a-Colada

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz. Mead
  • 1 1/2 oz. Bacardi Oakheart Spiced Rum
  • 2-3 dashes Orange Bitters
  • Coconut Sparkling Water
  • Sliced Pineapple or Pineapple Ring

Preparation: Shake first 3 ingredients together with ice. Pour ingredients into an old fashioned glass filled with ice. Top with coconut sparkling water and garnish with a pineapple slice or ring.


A Cure for What Ails You

A Cure for What Ails You

Photo Courtesy of Amy Ellis Photography

A Cure for What Ails You

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 oz. Mead
  • 1 1/2 oz. Ginger Beer
  • 1 oz. Lemon Juice
  • Lemon Peel

Preparation: Shake mead and lemon juice together over ice. Pour into an old fashioned glass filled with ice. Top with ginger beer. Run the lemon peel around the rim of the glass and drop into the drink.


The L Words

The L Words

Photo Courtesy of Amy Ellis Photography

The L Words

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 oz. Mead
  • 1/4 oz. Lemon Juice
  • 2 dashes Lavender Bitters
  • Brut Champagne to Fill
  • Lemon Peel

Preparation: Shake mead, lemon juice, and bitters together. Strain into a coupe glass, top with ice-cold champagne, and garnish with a lemon peel.


Red, White, and Mead

Red, White, and Mead

Photo Courtesy of Amy Ellis Photography

Red, White, and Mead

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz. Mead
  • 1 oz. Woodford Reserve Bourbon
  • 1/4 oz. Cherry Heering
  • 3 dashes Cherry-Vanilla Bitters

Preparation: Shake ingredients together with ice. Strain into coupe glass.

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