Why modern mead is the buzzy new drink Wine and spirits expert Helena Nicklin tried out the best modern meads READ MORE: This is why your beauty supplement could mean doctors miss a key sign of a heart attack By Helena Nicklin For The Daily Mail Published: 15:21 EDT, 12 June 2024 | Updated: 15:30 EDT, 12 June 2024 e-mail View comments When you think of mead, your mind’s eye probably conjures up syrupy souvenirs in National Trust gift shops, or images of bearded Vikings quaffing and carousing. Now, this ancient drink — one of the first ways humans consumed alcohol , with roots tracing back to 7000 BC — is making an unlikely comeback as summer’s hippest refresher, thanks to new fermentation techniques, sophisticated new flavours and even an outpouring of support on TikTok . Mead is simply and traditionally made by fermenting honey with water.
Indeed, we get the word ‘honeymoon’ thanks to the ancient Greek custom of giving it as a wedding gift to aid fertility . But it can also have ingredients including spices, fruit or hops added to enhance its flavour. Usually flat or slightly sparkling, the more traditional styles taste like aromatic, honey-sweetened wine at a similar strength (12-14 per cent) and are drunk just as wine would be.
But there’s a new generation of lighter, modern meads that can be slightly sweet or almost completely dry and range from no alcohol, to low or mid strength, matching the ABVs of cider or beer. Mead — one of the first ways humans cons.
