WIREDGOV

Mead – the world's oldest alcoholic drink – is fast becoming the new drink of choice for experimental cocktail lovers. 

English Heritage sells more mead in the UK than anyone else. The world’s oldest alcoholic drink is making a comeback, and new figures show that English Heritage sells a bottle of the ancient drink every 10 minutes. 

The drink is now hot on the heels of its younger and hipper cousin — gin — as sales increased by an average of 10 per cent year on year for the past three years.

As the UK’s largest retailer of mead, English Heritage will be offering free tasting samples of the drink at Enchanted events this winter. Come along to enjoy our illuminated gardens with an ancient winter warmer.

Browse our range of meads

Viking Vice to Trendy Tipple

Dating back thousands of years, mead is an alcoholic beverage created by fermenting honey with water, sometimes with various fruits or spices. It was once thought to be the drink of the gods, falling from the Heavens as dew and then gathered by bees.

Mead was also believed to improve health and prolong life. There is also a theory that mead was given to newlyweds to enjoy in the time after their marriage, creating the term 'honeymoon'. 

Once the Vikings’ drink of choice, mead now has a new and growing following who are putting a modern twist on the historical classic. Far from the flagons of old, modern mead drinkers enjoy the 9000-year-old beverage served over ice in cocktail glasses. 

To celebrate the revival of this golden brew, English Heritage has collaborated with The Vanguard — the UK’s first Cocktail Bar & Meadery — to create three new mead cocktails. See the recipes below to try them for yourself this Christmas. 

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