Brothers Drake Meadery

I had my first tasting of mead today at Brothers Drake Meadery.

I am surprised that I had not had this before. It's honey! Turned into wine! I love both things... How bad can it be?

The Drake brothers, with their partners, held a special tour for some food bloggers at their tasting room and refinery. We were given samples of their products right away and it only took one whiff of the mead to confirm that it is a honey product: that sweet scent is hard to miss!

The brothers gave us a brief history of mead (oldest form of alcohol, and used to be for the royals only!). They then took us through the whole process of mead-making (a bit like a chemistry lab!). It sounds simple, really. You need three ingredients: water, yeast, honey. The key thing about making good mead, though, they stressed, is that you want the best quality of all these ingredients you can find. This is not always a simple thing to do. Also, oxygen is not mead's friend. Once mixed and covered, the mixture needs to stay out of sunlight and air for a few months for best results.

I was happy to hear that they have a local source for their honey. They are also trying to strategize how best to find more locally made bottles. One thing is for sure, these people are passionate about making the best quality mead possible. I think their products will tell you that as well. Try their 'Apple Pie'! Very seasonally appropriate... it's like sipping apple pie from a glass...