PASSIONATE RATIONS

My husband, though he’ll drink it, is not a fan of champagne (something I’ll never understand).

He decided to toast the end of last year and the beginning of this one with mead (an ancient alcoholic beverage consisting of honey, yeast and water).

Honey, as you may recall from a prior post, does not spoil, so this may explain mead’s long-standing history as a beverage of choice.  As a former English literature major, I assure you that Chaucer himself enjoyed the stuff, as did his fictional pilgrims, so the dormant English major within liked the idea despite the fact that I am not a huge fan of honey (except when it mingles warmly with melted butter on biscuits or sopapillas).

Often mead is heated with spices, but this year we determined to try it straight up.   We settled on a bottle of Chaucer’s Mead (of all things) from California.

It’s coloring and aroma was honey-ed, but it’s taste, while beginning as honey, finished with a certain fermented sweetness more reminiscent of fruit wines.

For some reason, we never endeavored to heat it with the accompanying spice pack. Perhaps that will be for next year?

In any case, I hope this year–already almost month in–is proceeding smooth as honey for you.