If we were playing some sort of alcoholic scavenger hunt, and I asked you to find a mead, you probably wouldn't even know where to look. The beer store? A wine shop? The Middle Ages?! And that's the problem–no one seems to know exactly where to classify mead, even though it might just be the world's oldest way to get drunk. Even in today's overly "artisanal" era, almost no bars or restaurants stock it. But I'm here to tell you that mead–honey wine if we're being exact–shouldn't be the red-headed stepchild of your drinking repertoire any more. It's absolutely delicious and insanely versatile, especially with the inventiveness currently happening within America's craft mead industry. Whether you typically drink beer, wine, or booze, it's time to dive into mead, especially if you can get your hands on my following favorites.



B. Nektar Meadery B. Nektar Meadery

B. Nektar Meadery

In New York where I live, beer stores are separated by law from liquor and wine shops. In Massachusetts, though, it's all thrown together and that's where I was shopping for beer when I accidentally ventured into a dessert wine aisle and found a few meads from this Michigan meadery. B. Nektar was the rare meadery I'd actually heard of at that point in time, and they were highly regarded too–oddly, Ratebeer chooses to rate meads, while Beer Advocate doesn't (do you see what I'm saying about unclear classifications?)--so I decided to finally take the plunge. Almost immediately, B. Nektar made me realize meads could be just as interesting as craft beers--and have just as <>whacky of labels as well. Now available in fourteen states, B. Nektar's offerings include the tart cherry Zombie Killer, the Belgian beer-inspired Imperial Funky Monkey, and, my personal favorite, their highly-divisive "IPA-style" mead, Evil Genius.

Kuhnhenn Brewing

Likewise Michigan based, Kuhnhenn has long been one of my favorite breweries in America, most famous for producing some double-digit ABV, off-the-wall offerings such as their old ale Fourth Dementia and the legendary Raspberry Eisbock. Only recently did I realize they also make meads (not to mention wines). I shouldn't have been surprised, as their Braggot (a half-mead/half-beer) has long been one of my favorite adult beverages in the entire world. All their products are somewhat tricky for out-of-towners to get their hands on, but Kuhnhenn's highly acclaimed meads are a particularly tough acquisition. Once I tell you their names though, you'll probably trade away your first born to try and land some: Double Raspberry Truffle, Caramel Coconut Creme, and Bourbon Barrel French Toast Mead.



Aaron Goldfarb Aaron Goldfarb

Schramm's Mead

As you're starting to see, Michigan could very well be mead's mecca and, if so, we might have Ken Schramm to thank. Though he just opened a space in hip, downtown Ferndale, Schramm has long been a name in the burgeoning craft mead industry, if not its biggest name. A homebrewer since the 1980s, Ken co-founded America's national mead competition, the Mazer Cup, in the early 1990s, has collaborated with nearby neighbor B. Nektar several times over the years, and even wrote in 2003. Schramm's uses locally-produced, hand-harvested fruit ("And a lot of it.") to add an acidity that balances with the inherently cloying aspect of honey. His extremely limited Schraammbeek cherry, raspberry, and black currant The Heart of Darkness is rated by many as the best mead ever made. It also might be the most expensive, at $99 a bottle. It's worth every penny.



Medovina Medovina

Medovina Mead

If the previous three meads seem built for the beer geek crowd, Colorado's Medovina certainly attacks this unique beverage from another angle. Their nuanced flavor profiles and understated labels seem more targeted to wine connoisseurs. These culinary meads are crafted by an apiary-obsessed husband and wife team, Mark and Kellie Beran, who seem most content with upping Earth's annual honey consumption. Happy bees, happy planet. Sounds good to me and the meads they've honed over a decade in the business will sound good to you: their versatile Classic Mead, the Colorado-peach-packed Paonia Peach, and Kellie's personal favorite, Stinging Rose, produced with hand-picked rose petals.



Aaron Goldfarb Aaron Goldfarb

Brothers Drake Meadery & Bar

They say mead is the muse of writers, yet for some reason my girlfriend does not find that an acceptable reason why I'm drunk when she gets home from work. However, mead is clearly inspiring local artists in Ohio courtesy of Brothers Drake. This urban meadery has bar space in the University District of Columbus, Ohio where local jazz acts perform every single night. But, it's Brother Drake's unique meads that are the real stars of the show. Cleverly, the bar makes a series of mead-based cocktails like the Bourbon Bee, great for reeling in hesitant mead drinkers. Of course, you can also sip solo on their still wine-like meads, highlighted by Black Liquorice, Bergamot Blue, and the gloriously decadent Apple Pie. Can't make it to Columbus any time soon? Not to worry, as the Brothers are planning to open local meaderies all across America, having already hung a shingle for a second location in California this year, The San Francisco Mead Company.



Wild Blossom Meadery & Winery Wild Blossom Meadery & Winery

Wild Blossom Meadery & Winery

Mead remains surely the only alcoholic beverage that necessitates its makers having a "What is mead?" page on their websites (believe me, they all have one). You don't need a FAQ, though, to guess that meads are probably going to be sweeter than most beers and wines, and I think that's why many of them play so well against spice infusions. None are better though than what Chicagoland's Wild Blossom offers: the chili-pepper infused Pirate's Blood. Best of all, it's delivered in the most badass mead container made since the days men drank it out of bull's horns. (Then again, there are a stunning amount of drinking horns currently available on eBay.)



Redstone Meadery Redstone Meadery

Redstone Meadery

Perhaps the king of American craft mead is this Boulder, Colorado meadery which has been in operation since 2000 and might just be responsible for many "firsts." Whether adding hops to mead, producing carbonated session mead, or releasing a high end "reserve" series, "Chairman of the Mead" David Myers deserves scads of credit for the current state of the industry. Probably the most ubiquitous and "available" mead in America, you've surely seen Redstone's iconic cobalt blue swing-top bottles in whatever place your state government actually allows it to be sold (it's in thirty-two states). You might have passed on these all-natural, gluten-free meads, but you won't any more now that Redstone is doing what we always do in America to make a drink more palatable to the drunken masses: canning it. Yes, trailblazing Redstone now offers some of the first ever mead in cans, available in three flavors, Sunshine, Nectar of the Hops, and their bestselling Black Raspberry. Now who's up for a game of mead pong?

Aaron Goldfarb Aaron Goldfarb lives in Brooklyn and is a novelist and the author of 'Hacking Whiskey.'

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