Inside the Mead: Honey, Time and a Bottle from Whitehaven

Mead is one of the oldest drinks there is. Honey, water and time, and a living thing doing quiet work in the middle. Nobody invented it so much as noticed it. We have made our own now, here in Whitehaven, and Batch 2 is in the shop. This is the story of what is in the bottle.

What mead actually is

Mead is a fermented honey drink. The sugars in honey are what the yeast feeds on, and as it works, those sugars turn into alcohol. That is the whole idea. It is closer to wine than to a spirit, and it is not distilled. We are a distillery, so this is a different craft from the one our copper pot stills are built for, and that is part of why we wanted to do it properly.

Why the honey matters most

With only a few ingredients, there is nowhere to hide. The honey sets the character of the whole drink, so choosing it is the biggest decision we make.

Our first batch was made with Zambian organic forest honey. For Batch 2 we moved to sunflower honey. We want to be plain about that. The honey in our mead is not Cumbrian honey, and we would rather tell you exactly what it is than lean on a nicer-sounding story. What is Cumbrian is the place it is made and bottled: Whitehaven, on the coast, where the whole of Stanaways lives.

Two batches, two honeys, two different characters. That is what small batches are for.

Traditional fermentation, and why we respect it

Mead rewards patience. Fermentation cannot be hurried without paying for it in the glass. The traditional approach is to give the honey and the yeast the time they need and keep a close eye on them, rather than forcing the pace. It is the same instinct we bring to everything at Stanaways. Good things in a small distillery take as long as they take.

What is in the bottle

Mead Batch 2 comes in a 750ml bottle at 12.52% ABV. That is a gentler strength than our spirits, which sit around 40%, and it makes it a drink for sitting with rather than rushing. Expect the natural sweetness of honey, with the sunflower honey setting the tone.

Batch 2 is a different honey from Batch 1 and a lower strength, so if you tried the first, this is a fresh bottle to compare. If you did not, this is the one to start with.

How we would drink it

Mead does not need dressing up. Pour it in a small glass, take your time, and let the honey come through. It is good on a cold evening, when the light goes early and the sea air comes in off the Solway. It also sits well beside a cheese board or a slice of something baked, if you want to turn it into an occasion.

Where it comes from

Everything we make is shaped by Whitehaven and the Cumbrian coast, and the mead is no different. It is made and bottled here, in small batches, by a small team who care how it turns out.

Mead Batch 2 is available now at stanaways.com.

Honey, time and a bottle from Whitehaven. Batch 2 is ready when you are.