We’ve previously covered the rest of Apothecary Mead’s range in an earlier article – highly recommend taking a look at that piece too.
Olde Scratch: 4.5/5
Continuing Apothecary Mead‘s specialty of deep, dark meads is Olde Scratch, a bochet which you can’t actually purchase online at the moment. It was previously available from Horns of Odin, which is probably one of the best places to buy mead (and great hand-carved drinking horns) in the UK. Fingers crossed this one makes a comeback, as it was a brilliant mead.
Olde Scratch cuts a dark, brooding figure in the bottle. It has a living red hue when poured, but the first flavour you’re met with upon taking a sip is almost like light treacle. Here is where the liquorice root comes into play, deepening the sweetness of the caramelised honey. This is where most flavoured meads end in my experience, but Olde Scratch continues to build, layering on a hint of orange and a subtle, warming root ginger finale to close it out and cleanse your palate in time for the next sip.
This is an absolutely lovely mead. It’s thoughtful, layered and complex. What really impresses me about Olde Scratch is how well each of its layers blend into one another. My favourite mead from Apothecary, Nevermore, is similar, but all the assembled flavour notes blend together to create one mystifying drink. Olde Scratch plays out in dance-like steps.
The first taste of caramel, just rich enough to feel indulgent without overwhelming. Then liquorice root, bittersweet and mild, a slow descent into darkness that begins to sparkle on the tongue with just a touch of orange. And, finally, the promised ‘brimstone kick’ – a fiery finish employed with Apothecary’s alchemical mastery. It always amazes me how expertly they balance the flavours in their mead, and Olde Scratch is no exception.
Best paired with: Pacts with ancient folk devils. Failing that, steak. This one would also work spectacularly as a dessert mead for those with richer tastes.
Summerisle – 4/5
Given the meads we’ve reviewed so far, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s all dark, rich brews at Apothecary Mead, but we’ve actually got a couple of lighter bottles to cover next. Summerisle is a metheglin, which is mead flavoured with herbs and spices. This mead captures the aromatic, crisp sweetness of lemon – no sourness or ‘tang’ along with subtle threads of bay and cardamom.
I first tasted this right after a hearty dram of Olde Scratch, and the contrast was astonishing. They are practically two sides of the same coin. All of Olde Scratch’s depths are reflected in Summerisle‘s highs – the flavours go just as far in the other direction. First a light, clean burst of lemon that mellows into a tender honey note. It finishes on the spices, the unmistakable taste of cardamom washing over the palate. It’s a cool, refreshing blend that lifts the spirits and goes down easy.
I’ve spent a lot of time drinking Apothecary’s darker concoctions, and I think I was slightly perplexed at this one. It’s so different, and yet so undeniably theirs. While it’s not necessarily as complex as their other meads, this has a really cleansing taste to it that dallies on the edge of herbal liqueur. I’m trying to avoid using the word ‘medicinal’, but this is how I imagine health potions in The Elder Scrolls probably taste.
We made our first mead cocktail using a recipe from the official Witcher Cookbook, comprised of homemade raspberry syrup and cranberry juice. I initially used Signature (covered below) and didn’t think much of the cocktail at all. The mead was absolutely the best part, and the fruit flavours just seemed unnecessary. I thought it would really need a stronger citrus profile and a herbal kick to elevate it, and conveniently enough Summerisle fit that profile perfectly. The results were exceptional, and as such I’d heartily recommend getting yourself a bottle of Summerisle if you enjoy cocktails or longer drinks. Summerisle is invigorating, cleansing yet dangerously drinkable.
Best paired with: Lighter dishes, fish, white meat. Can be served neat, but this mead is made for cocktails. Chill it and lengthen it with fruit juice or tonics for an absolutely sublime drink. Mix it with anything except the bees. NOT THE BEES!
Signature – 5/5
Well, wasn’t this a surprise? Signature forms the origin for all of Apothecary Mead‘s varied range, so I expected this to be a solid traditional mead. But Signature embodies all the old folklore of mead as nectar of the gods and showcases what can be done with excellent honey in skilled hands. Raw, unpasteurised Welbeck Honey from the ancient Sherwood Forest, brewed in a way that preserves and cherishes the unique flavours.
Signature has genuinely made me reconsider the immense value of straight-up traditional mead. Nevermore, my personal favourite, is a mead to savour in a comfy chair with a long book. Signature is a mead to share with good friends around a roaring fire, preferably with plenty of food on the horizon too. This was what I always dreamed mead tasted like before I’d ever actually tasted it, and in a roundabout way, that’s the biggest compliment I can pay it. With the right honey in the right hands, you can make mead that tastes legendary. And I don’t mean that in the modern parlance. I’m talking mythical. Signature could well be the mead of poetry itself. It contains a wealth of experience within those amber depths, distilling mead’s ancient, powerful history into a real drink you can taste now. If you’re just getting started with mead, start with a bottle of this.
Apothecary Mead final thoughts (for now):
Well, I thought the sorrow I felt upon finishing my first bottle of Nevermore was profound, but now I’ve covered everything besides the extremely limited Little John I’m bereft! In all seriousness, sampling each of these meads has been an incredible experience. Not only have I tasted a range of truly unique artisan meads, I’ve learned a lot about the world’s oldest alcoholic drink in the process. Undertaking my first set of mead reviews with Apothecary has set an incredibly high bar, one I’m not sure many others will be able to pass. I’m going to give it a bloody good try, though.
I truly look forward to seeing what they do next – each one of these meads have been an expertly crafted adventure in a bottle, building flavour around theme with expert hands. Check out their website if you’re curious or stalk them on social media. They don’t mind. I’ll end this with the closing line from our first review, half out of literary laziness, half because it stands stronger now than it did then.
These bottles 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.
We’d be honoured to review your mead too – please contact lars@drunkendice.co.uk.