Mead is wine made from honey instead of the usual grapes; honey and water are fermented, sometimes with the addition of a grain mash. The latter is then strained off after fermentation. Alcohol content usually ranges from 8% to a whopping 18%.

This honey liquor occupies a unique position in legend, turning up in more Nordic-based fantasy poetry and prose than you would think possible, as well as the Celtic and Germanic myths – it’s been drunk by the likes of Odin’s warrior gods and featured in Celtic bard Taliesin’s writings.

The best meads are sweet but not cloying, liquid enough to flow across the tongue but with a good weight mid-palate.

And now available in Malaysia, the US-made Chaucer’s Mead is one of the better meads on the market. Brought in by Honey Wines Sdn. Bhd., the mead is made at Chaucer’s Cellars in the Californian Santa Cruz mountains from 100% honey. The honey is sourced from beehives in northern California, and Chaucer’s uses a blend of alfalfa, sage and orange blossom honey.
Mead can be drunk warm or cold; Chaucer’s comes with an attached bag of spices, in case you want to enjoy warm mulled mead. Just place the spice bag and the mead into a saucepan over low heat to infuse the spice into the mead.

Chaucer’s weighs in at about 11% alcohol, and is made with no artificial colours or flavours. It’s currently available at clubs like Mist in Bangsar and restaurants like Grand Imperial in Bangsar Shopping Centre.