Hive Mind Oak Barrel Aged Traditional Mead 18% abv 500ml
Discover a bold, characterful expression of traditional mead with our Oak Whiskey Barrel-Aged Traditional Mead. Setting some of our award-winning Traditional Mead aside to mature in oak whiskey barrels has created a wondrously dark, deep, and woody celebration of the finest parts of oak and honey. The current batch uses Laphroaig barrels, imparting a delicious peaty, smoky aroma.
Crafted from 100% pure late summer honey, this luxurious honey wine is layered with natural vanillins from the oak, rich undertones of the whisky that once filled the cask, and a smooth, lingering warmth. At 18% it’s a bold, full-bodied drink made authentically using 100% honey.
Tasting Notes:
Aromas of toasted oak, vanilla, and soft spice, with a palate of honeyed sweetness, warming wood, and a hint of whiskey depth. Finishes long with notes of caramel and charred oak. A great way to round off an evening!
Perfect Pairings:
Pair with aged cheddar, smoked foods, or indulgent desserts like sticky toffee pudding, apple pie (poached in whisky) and dark chocolate torte. Ideal served neat, over ice, or as the base for a barrel-aged mead cocktail.
Why Choose Our Oak Whiskey Barrel-Aged Mead?
✔ Award-winning mead aged in whiskey barrels for added depth
✔ Made properly with 100% pure honey (no added sugars or white wine like some meads)
✔ Smooth, rich, and complex. A premium example of traditional mead
✔ Versatile: enjoy neat, chilled, or in cocktails
✔ 2* Great Taste Award 2023, 2024
Great Taste Award Judging notes:
"A stunningly bright and beautiful, lightly gold mead with a light and smooth aroma carrying complexity on the nose. Whiskey, vanilla and honey are carefully balanced with gorgeous flavours in true harmony. Malty, aromatic and softly sweet, the mead is unified in flavour. A deeply pleasurable drink. Levels of sweetness have been carefully balanced without a hint of cloying on the palate. So smooth and silken in texture, this slips down very easily."
"Aromas of toast with underlying beeswax and the lift of citrus. We loved the layers of texture, accumulating in a finish that displays both corn mill and peat. A sophisticated and complex mead."
"This has a lovely depth of bright amber colour; very intense on the nose, with pronounced notes of manuka honey, sweet yet smokey. This is an impressively deep and complex mead with almost umami depth, balancing the rich, intense honey with savoury notes. The flavours are complex, long and lingering."