Welcome back to the Eternal Hoptimists.
And now its time for something completely different
As you all know we predominantly look at and review beers on T|E|H, but sometimes an opportunity arises that we just can let pass us by, this was one such opportunity.
Wheatley’s Of Yorkshire create their Mead in the very city in which were all from, Hull. despite this we will of course give our usual unbiased opinion, and who better to do this then our oldest.. sorry wisest member John!
Hello everyone, well this is something different isn’t it. I’ve never had mead before but I’m not shy to giving things a try. According to their website this is fantastic to use in cocktails, so the wife has suddenly shown a keen interest in giving this a go too… cant imagine why though!
As this is something out of the ordinary, we wont be rating this via our usual method, I also let Peter have a taste too as I felt a little bad keeping it all to ourselves!
So what was the mead like straight?…
- Name: Black Cherry & Madagascan Vanilla Mead
- Distillery: Wheatley’s Of Yorkshire
- Aroma: Strong scents of vanilla and cherry with a strong sweetness
- Appearance: Slightly reddish polished acorn like colour, its very dazzling in the sunlight.
- Body: Viscous and very smooth.
- Taste: A strong initial dark cherry taste with a touch of sourness quickly morphing to a sweet vanilla honey finish
Needless to say this was a very sweet mouthful, which left a very pleasant warming burn from the 14.5% ABV, which was less distinctive than I would of thought, but this was to its credit as that means it didn’t impact on the flavours.
These are full on flavours for a 14.5% proof tipple, and at that percentage sensible drinking is advised. It is certainly one to be savoured not one to be chugged. The presentation of the product is 1st class being supplied in a dome style 70cl Whiskey bottle with a cork, seal and striking clear label.
Strangely enough Sue(the wife) and Peter both loved this as did I, the proof was certainly in the bottle as it where.
But, what about the cocktails?
We made two cocktails, with the recipes that Sam provided and a little adlibbing from me..
60ML Mead
25ml Fresh Orange
Dash of Cointreau over Ice
Nice bit of cherry and orange flavour running throughout, very thirst quenching but lost a bit of the mead flavours. I think this one needs a bit more work, but it was pleasant enough (Sue had 2)
Next up was the more complicated one.. with a few changes by yours truely.
45ml Mead
30ml Bourbon
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
3 inches of Orange Peel
2tbs Honey Syrup
Wowza! I might just be a cocktail convert with this one, although not as impressive in the photograph its certainly impressive on the tastebuds! Came out quite similar to an old fashioned but the honey syrup and mead took out all of the burn and instead left you with a pleasant tingle.
So what did we think to Wheatley’s Of Yorkshire
Well to be brief, their mead was very impressive, colour us impressed! We really enjoyed their mead and we are impressed with both the quality and the variety they create. Although the batches are created with the most seasonal crop/ fruits and botanicals which means they are only available for a limited time!..
So what are you waiting for? Click HERE and order yours before they run out!
The|Eternal|Hoptimitsts 