This is an Irish made mead. The smell is like a slightly sweet turpentine. The taste is pleasant initially. This is not a drink you could have much of cloying is probably the best word. It is initially pleasant but the sickly sweetness gets to you quickly.
The marketing of the mead (well pyment really as it uses grapes) is dodgy. It is made in a sort of paddyland irish theme park Bunratty. The website gives a flavour of the paddy whackery here (warning has worlds worst music). This drink is designed for selling to Americans who want some heritage of their ancestral homeland. So Bunratty mead is similar to leprechaun outfits and bits of "the old sod" turf as more a nostalgic trinket then a product to be enjoyed on its own terms. It is an understandable nostalgia but it is sad that perhaps the only well known Irish mead is pretty poor.
I have a feeling the music on that page is set to fast forward. At least I hope so!
ReplyDeleteI knew a woman who used to play the harp at Bunratty now and again. She was the real deal, but the "heritage" park is definitely shamrockery of the highest order.
I had a strange experience last year when the priest my then finacee and I had to chat with before out wedding mentioned to us that he kept bees and had lots of honey. I thought to myself, 'There might be a purpose to this meeting after all....'
ReplyDeleteI never capitalised on it though. But imagine how good the mead would have been. Mmmmmmm, holy honey.
... from the Venerable Bee.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I'm here all week.
Adeptus shamrockery is a great word.
ReplyDeleteThom what is it with priests and beekeeping? There mad for it.
You say it's a pyment but shouldn't it be considered a metheglin, since they add herbs to it?
ReplyDelete