Mead is a drink with serious history. It’s the oldest known alcoholic drink in the world, after all. As a result it has a lot of fantastical preconceptions attached to it. In pop culture, it is simply ‘the viking drink’, which does sometimes relegate it to the realms of renaissance fairs and conventions. But there is more to mead than vikings, and I always find it immensely refreshing when I happen upon a meadery that understands this and has a little bit of fun with it.
That was my predominant feeling with Arcane Alchemist, based on my short experience with them at a food festival in West Sussex. While Sam, the brains behind the mead, certainly has a ton of respect and knowledge for the drink he crafts, he’s not afraid to infuse them with his own vibrant character. His traditional mead, Oakbeard’s Treasure, has a quaint pirate theme. The Cosmo, his melomel, is an exceptionally fruity honeyed spin on the Cosmopolitan cocktail, and Ethereal Orchard is a toffee apple mead so flavourful it could be pudding in a bottle.
But there was one that stood above the rest for me – and, ironically enough, it was the viking’s blood. Not that I wouldn’t have been delighted with a bottle of anything from his stall, mind.
Kvasir’s Blood – a mystifying blend of cherry, hibiscus, and juniper
Kvasir’s Blood – named for the Norse myth about the mead of poetry – is warming and smooth, complex enough to savour whilst going down all too easily. Sour, sweet, with only the subtlest of honey notes providing a soft bed for the rest of the spices to mingle together on. The absolute, undeniable highlight of Kvasir’s Blood is the incredibly well preserved sour cherry flavour, accentuated in all the right places without ever being diluted. This is a testament not only to Arcane Alchemist‘s skill, but the versatility of mead itself, essentially using the alcoholic potential and flexibility of honey to deliver a delicious cherry wine.
I find the addition of hibiscus always adds this mystical, unquantifiable quality to mead, and that’s perhaps because I struggle to come up with the words to describe the flavour properly. The floral aspect of it is so subtle, it’s both sweet and a little bit astringent, and it never seems to stay in one place on the tongue for too long. By the time you think you’ve got hibiscus figured out, it’s already moved on to the next note, and you’re staring at an empty glass (or bottle, in my case) of mead still trying to nail down a way to explain it.
The 15% ABV mark is generally a pretty sweet spot for this sort of mead in my relatively limited experience. It results in a drink that feels as warming as the spices that swirl in those crimson depths, the sourness of cherry, the enigmatic hibiscus, and the cleansing, citrus-like strength of juniper berries cutting through, readying your palate for another sip. I’m extremely eager to sample more of Arcane Alchemist‘s signature range in future, and will definitely be adding Sam’s meads to my list of meadhall heroes.
Arcane Alchemist Mead’s Kvasir’s Blood – 4.5/5
This is a wonderfully well-rounded mead, suited to drinkers who enjoy semi-sweet wines with a few extra layers of complexity. The sour cherry taste is delivered on a deep bed of warming spices, all delicately wrapped up in the quiet, gently floral mystery of hibiscus, dancing on the edges of sweetness. A mead worthy of its name, for sure.
If that all sounds good to you – and why wouldn’t it? – please check out Arcane Alchemist’s website to grab yourself a bottle (or four) and support a small business keeping tradition alive. There’s something incredibly refreshing about Sam’s vibrant, colourful approach to his product. A quick look at his Instagram page will prove that – however, Arcane Alchemist is nothing but serious about their mead, and the proof of that is in every bottle.
Want us to review your mead? We’d be honoured – just email lars@drunkendice.co.uk!