Cauldron of Inspiration warmed by the breath of nine maidens (Celtic Myths and Legends by Charles Squire with illustration by Ernest Wallcousins 1912)

Mead is an alcoholic drink made entirely from honey, or honey mixed with pulped fruit or mashed grain. It was drunk though history and across continents by Neolithic Chinese, Vikings and modern Kalahari Bushmen. Many cultures considered mead magical, able to bestow wisdom and the gift of poetry, and to be a universal panacea.

Mead, brewed with rice, honey and fruit, was found in Chinese archaeological sites 9,000 years old. It turned up in 8,000 year old burial chambers near the Black Sea… the tomb of King Midas. Yes, King Midas: the one who turned everything to gold. There is some basis in fact for his golden touch: but that’s another story.

The Vedas, Hindu sacred texts written in Sanskrit almost 2,000 years ago, link mead to the gods, as does ancient Greek myth: Mead was the Olympian Gods’ tipple of choice. Hippocrates, the father of medicine (as in the Hippocratic Oath) used mead brewed with fruit juice as medicine.

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