ABV
Varies by product; check the label
Check the bottle for its alcohol content. When mixing, consider both the measure and the mixer.
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DRINKS JOURNAL
Mead
Mead is made by diluting honey with water and fermenting it with yeast. It is a fermented drink rather than a distilled one, and Japan's liquor tax law classes it under other fermented liquors. It is one of the older things people have made, and versions of the same idea survive around the world.
Related bottle in this familyBee Buzz 微醺蜜月 蜂蜜酒 700mlAsk about this bottle →Six clues to your next glass
Explore aroma, texture and serving style to find what you enjoy.
Sweetness
DrySweet
Dry to sweet
Sweet aromas and sugar are different clues. Colour alone does not tell you sweetness.
Acidity
GentleBright
Depends on the drink and its mixers
Distinguish acidity in the drink itself from acidity added by juice or mixers.
Aroma
Honey, flowers, fruit
Ideas for describing aromas; illustrated ingredients are not present in every product.
Texture
LightFull
Light — Full
A light finish or a rounded texture? Temperature and dilution can change the impression.
Serving
Chilled or at room temperature, by style
Start with the producer’s serving advice, then adjust temperature or water a little at a time.
The bands show dimensions of taste, not scores or positions for individual products.
THE DETAILS
Understand the styles
An old idea with many local histories
Mead ferments honey diluted with water, but honey has also appeared in mixed fermented drinks. Research on roughly 9,000-year-old pottery from Jiahu in China identified evidence of a beverage combining rice, honey and fruit. That is not the same as proving the existence of a modern honey-only mead. The useful historical thread is the variety of ways people turned locally available sugars into drinks.
Honey aroma does not guarantee sweetness
Yeast converts sugar into alcohol, allowing mead to range from dry to richly sweet. The honey’s floral source, fermentation choices and remaining sugar all matter. Fruit, spices and carbonation add further possibilities. A spirit sweetened with honey is a honey liqueur, not automatically mead: look for how the drink was made rather than relying on the ingredient named on the front label.
Find its place at the table
A light dry style can suit vegetables or white meat; fruit acidity offers another route towards cheese, while richer sweet styles invite nuts and baked desserts. These are starting points rather than rules. Check strength, sweetness and carbonation before choosing a serving size. Compare a small pour chilled and slightly warmer to see how the floral aroma develops.
Further reading: Penn Museum · Jiahu research
Serving ideas, illustrated
Q-NaHow does it taste, and how do you serve it?
JoanneChilled, in a wine glass, the aroma comes out. Sweet styles go with cheese and nuts, dry styles with chicken and vegetable dishes. WAIN99 carries Bee Buzz, made by Legend Brewery in Taiwan, which shows how directly the choice of honey carries into the taste.
Q-NaWhy people call it the oldest drink
Mead is often called the oldest drink in the world. That cannot be proved, but there is a reason people say it. It needs no vineyard and no grain processing: if honey is diluted by rainwater, wild yeast in the air can start it fermenting on its own. So it may well have appeared by accident long before anyone knew how to make drinks on purpose. With honey to hand, you barely need equipment. Who made the first one is unknown, but it was certainly the easiest one to stumble into. We do not know, though, whether the honey drinks in old records were made the way they are today.
Q-NaChange the honey and you change everything
Mead is close to just honey, water and yeast, so whichever flower the bees worked ends up being the flavour. Acacia honey is pale in colour and taste and finishes clean. Buckwheat honey is dark, with a strong molasses and earthy note. Citrus blossom is light and fresh; chestnut blossom leaves a touch of bitterness. The direction is largely set at the honey stage, and what the maker adjusts after that is mainly how far it ferments and how it rests. When comparing bottles, start by reading the flower. Heat drives the aroma out of honey, so makers watch the temperature carefully when they start.
Q-NaThe honeymoon story, told as a story
You often hear that newlyweds drank mead for their first month together, and that this is where the word honeymoon comes from. It is a story told in several places rather than something settled, and there are other explanations for the word. What the records and tales do show is that mead was long treated as a drink for celebrations. Whatever the truth about the name, it is still one of the bottles people reach for when they want to give something. If you are giving a bottle, a smaller one that is easy to finish asks less of the person receiving it.
Q-NaMead is not always sweet
It is made from honey, so people expect it to be sweet, and it often is not. Let the yeast eat through all the sugar and you get a dry mead with almost no sweetness left. Stop the fermentation partway and the remaining sugar makes it sweet. The same honey can give a dry version, a sweet version, or a sparkling one. Dry meads sit at the table much like a white wine; sweet ones suit a small glass after a meal. Check the label for dry or sweet and there will be fewer surprises. Some are fermented together with fruit or spices, and those styles go by names of their own.
AT THE TABLE
Start with the food.
Use canned tuna if mackerel is hard to find, spinach instead of bok choy, or a little soy sauce and citrus juice instead of ponzu. Adjust to taste.
Western food & easy snacks 6
Cheese board
A local mild hard cheese or soft white cheese is a useful start; compare stronger cheeses later.
Try it withSemi-sweet mead
Taste a little of the aromatic drink alongside the dish’s richness and umami. Adjust temperature or dilution if it dominates.
Apple and Gouda
Easy home recipe · About 5 min
Ingredients (2 snack portions)
1/2 apple, 60g Gouda
Method
1. Slice the apple and cut the cheese into bites.
2. Arrange together.
Try it withChilled dry mead
Try a lighter serving with green aromas and salt. Keep sharply acidic dressings modest at first.
Herb roast chicken
A supermarket roast is fine. Let the herbs and browned skin lead, with sauce on the side.
Try it withSemi-sweet mead
Explore the food’s grilled or toasted notes alongside the drink’s aroma. Start with moderate char and salt.
Pear and blue cheese
Add a little blue cheese to ripe pear, alternating fruit sweetness and salt.
Try it withSemi-sweet mead
Taste a little of the aromatic drink alongside the dish’s richness and umami. Adjust temperature or dilution if it dominates.
Banana yogurt with cocoa
Easy home recipe · About 5 min
Ingredients (2 snack portions)
1 banana, 150g plain yogurt, 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa
Method
1. Slice the banana.
2. Add to the yogurt and dust lightly with cocoa.
Try it withA small pour of sweet mead
A small after-dinner experiment: alternate a bite and a sip, checking that bitterness does not overwhelm the sweetness.
Mushroom quiche
Warm a deli or frozen portion following its instructions; focus on mushroom and egg richness.
Try it withSemi-sweet mead
Taste a little of the aromatic drink alongside the dish’s richness and umami. Adjust temperature or dilution if it dominates.
Japanese 6
Sweet potato with butter
Easy home recipe · About 5 min
Ingredients (2 snack portions)
200g ready-cooked sweet potato, 10g butter
Method
1. Warm the sweet potato following the pack instructions.
2. Cut into pieces and top with butter.
Try it withA small pour of sweet mead
A small after-dinner experiment: alternate a bite and a sip, checking that bitterness does not overwhelm the sweetness.
Cucumber with miso cream cheese
Easy home recipe · About 5 min
Ingredients (2 snack portions)
50g cream cheese, 1 tsp miso, 1/2 cucumber
Method
1. Mix the cheese and miso.
2. Spoon small amounts onto cucumber rounds.
Try it withSemi-sweet mead
Taste a little of the aromatic drink alongside the dish’s richness and umami. Adjust temperature or dilution if it dominates.
Yakitori chicken skewers
Ready-cooked skewers work too. Choose salt for a lighter bite or glaze for sweet, savoury char.
Try it withSemi-sweet mead
Explore the food’s grilled or toasted notes alongside the drink’s aroma. Start with moderate char and salt.
Butter-seared scallops
A ready-cooked portion works too. Pair the shellfish sweetness and buttery richness.
Try it withSemi-sweet mead
Explore the food’s grilled or toasted notes alongside the drink’s aroma. Start with moderate char and salt.
Grilled salmon
Ready-cooked fish is fine. Keep salt light and enjoy the browned skin.
Try it withSemi-sweet mead
Explore the food’s grilled or toasted notes alongside the drink’s aroma. Start with moderate char and salt.
Lotus-root crisps
Serve a shop-bought handful in a bowl; start with lightly salted crisps.
Try it withChilled dry mead
Try a fresher serving against the rich coating and oil. Serve chilli sauce separately to make comparison easier.
Chinese & Taiwanese 6
Taiwanese popcorn chicken
Pepper and basil give this fried chicken its character. Plain popcorn chicken with pepper is an easy alternative.
Try it withChilled dry mead
Try a fresher serving against the rich coating and oil. Serve chilli sauce separately to make comparison easier.
Tea eggs
Eggs simmered with tea and soy. A ready-made soy-marinated egg is an accessible alternative.
Try it withSemi-sweet mead
Taste a little of the aromatic drink alongside the dish’s richness and umami. Adjust temperature or dilution if it dominates.
Mango with coconut milk
Easy home recipe · About 5 min
Ingredients (2 snack portions)
200g mango flesh, 80ml ready-to-use coconut milk
Method
1. Dice the mango.
2. Pour over coconut milk and serve cool.
Try it withA small pour of sweet mead
A small after-dinner experiment: alternate a bite and a sip, checking that bitterness does not overwhelm the sweetness.
Cooked prawns with ginger
Easy home recipe · About 5 min
Ingredients (2 snack portions)
150g cooked peeled prawns, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tbsp spring onion, 1 tsp each sesame oil and soy sauce
Method
1. Prepare prawns according to the pack and pat dry.
2. Toss with the remaining ingredients.
Try it withChilled dry mead
Keep the gentle savoury flavours in focus. Sip a little and adjust the strength so the food stays distinct.
Almond tofu pudding
A small ready-made cup works. Try it without fruit sauce first for a gentle sweetness.
Try it withA small pour of sweet mead
A small after-dinner experiment: alternate a bite and a sip, checking that bitterness does not overwhelm the sweetness.
Vegetable spring rolls
Cook frozen rolls as directed; enjoy the crisp pastry with sauce on the side.
Try it withChilled dry mead
Try a fresher serving against the rich coating and oil. Serve chilli sauce separately to make comparison easier.
1 tsp = 5ml; 1 tbsp = 15ml. Times are approximate.
Illustrations show serving ideas. Seasoning and the style of the drink will change the pairing.