What better way to begin my journey into mead reviews than Apothecary Mead, a small business from my very own home county of Nottinghamshire. This is a company that infuses their drinks with nods to gothic poetry, horror and folk tales from Britain’s mythical past, offering a carefully curated selection of artisan meads presented with one-of-a-kind creative flair.
Nevermore – 5/5
Apothecary Mead’s Nevermore was the first product in their line-up that caught my eye, and, if I’m being honest, it was totally just the name/label design that sold it to me. Luckily, my relatively shallow reasons for sampling this mead first were backed up by a drink that delivered more or less exactly what the tasting notes advertised.
It’s an acerglyn, using maple syrup alongside honey during fermentation. This produces a base flavour which has the delicate sweetness of honey and the almost nutty caramel flavour of maple. The two compliment each other beautifully, but where Nevermore absolutely shines is the addition of Assam tea and chai-style spices. I have never in my years drinking mead encountered a commercial bottle that delivers a taste as well-balanced and delicate as this one.
We have ginger, green cardamom, cinnamon, fennel, star anise, peppercorns and cloves infused into a drink that almost demands to be sipped leisurely by an open fire (or, in my limited circumstances, an IKEA Tarnaby lamp with the dial turned down low). This is my personal ideal mead. Any one of those spices listed above can become overpowering with ease, but Apothecary Mead have all of them playing along in perfect harmony.
It is a mystifying, enchanting blend of tastes delivered on a smooth, delicately sweet bed. At once complex and easily drunk, an absolute triumph of the craft.
Best paired with: Charcuterie, which provides an excellent salty contrast to the sweet complexity, and surcease of sorrow, sorrow for the lost Lenore.
Black Philip – 3/5
After Nevermore, my standards for Apothecary’s meads were perhaps unfairly high. This might be why Black Philip didn’t hit the mark. It was my first time tasting a bochet, mead made with caramelised honey. The website describes it as having a ‘bonfire toffee profile’, and while that is accurate, I found the smokiness ran roughshod over the small hints of vanilla, fig and orange zest. That smoky taste is heavily accentuated by the mead’s finishing over charred bourbon barrel oak.
“The worst thing about Apothecary Mead is the feeling of despair you reach at the bottom of a bottle.”
If you love whisky and mead, this is as close as you’ll get to a marriage of the two without actually whisking them together in some insane attempt to please multiple ancient gods at once. For me, it fell flat. I enjoyed the smokey heat, almost delivering that signature whisky burn, but I felt it made Black Philip‘s overall taste profile hit a single note. Not a bad mead by any means, but I wouldn’t seek it out again.
Best paired with: Flavourful meats such as rare steak or lamb chops – as the taste is so prominent, I’d recommend pairing it with a taste that can’t be overpowered. Naturally, you could try goat too – as long as it’s not some sort of Satanic vessel.
The Morrigan – 5/5
After my slight disappointment with Black Philip, I felt a little bit of uncertainty. Perhaps Nevermore was a lightning-strike, a brilliant one off to be followed by a pair of meads that were fine, but not as exciting and alive on the palate as the first.
The Morrigan is an absolute showstopper. It very nearly dethroned Nevermore, which has firmly cemented itself as not just my favourite mead but perhaps my favourite alcoholic beverage of all time. This is a simpler concept, but executed just as skilfully, with dark cherries leaning seductively into the honey, robing that gentle wave of sweetness with a deep darkness. The star anise – again – is employed with finesse, adding a lace-fine layer of complexity to The Morrigan‘s garnet red brew.
Every Apothecary Mead product tells a story. The bottles are an event by themselves, adorned with striking artwork and wax seals, but none of them quite compare to The Morrigan‘s presentation. The gemstone-like red mead is delivered in a Tulipano bottle, and pouring a drink as richly coloured as this from glass like that feels momentous.
Best paired with: This mead can be served chilled or warmed as a mulled-wine style drink. It goes well with bread, cheese, or seasonal treats like stollen, lebkuchen and mince pies.
Apothecary Mead in summary:
The worst thing about Apothecary Mead is the feeling of despair you reach at the bottom of a bottle. Not the alcohol-induced kind, of course, but the mildly hollowing sorrow you might feel at the end of an exceptionally good book. The fact that you’re left with an almost ornamental hand-finished bottle at the end is only a small consolation.
The small team behind Apothecary Mead are alchemists. They have deftly mixed premium ingredients with cunning and experience to deliver some of the most unique and well-balanced meads in the UK’s competitive market. These are not meads to drink by the bottle at pagan festivals or medieval fairs (though nobody is stopping you). They are stories, crafted with care, to be savoured at leisure in a comfortable setting.
Just like a good book, Apothecary Mead’s range will demand and reward your attention.
Want us to review your mead? We’d be honoured – just email lars@drunkendice.co.uk!