Mead has a pretty ancient history that predates the common era. It's easy to see why: mead is made of simple, natural ingredients that were abound way back yonder. Supposedly the first mention of mead is in the sacred Vedic book the Rigveda:

"Adhvaryus, make the sweet libations ready, and bring the beautiful bright juice to Vāyu.
God, as our Priest, be thou the first to drink it: we give thee of the mead to make thee joyful"

If it's good enough for God, it's good enough for me. 

Mead 101:

Honey wine and mead are often used interchangeably. However, some people hold that honey wine is different in that the honey is fermented by grapes/fruit as opposed to barm (beer-yeast). Hops are often used as a preservative, giving mead a beer-y taste.

Sap House Meadery

Located in New Hampshire, Sap House Meadery has four permanent meads and five additional seasonal varieties. I tried the Sugar Maple Mead, which gets about half of its fermentable sugar from maple syrup.

I love the packaging, don't you?

Drink your mead in a frosted pug glass.

The nose is full of orange blossom and honey cake, a good enough sniff even gives off a bit of an ale scent. The taste is very interesting, certainly full of deep maple and waxy honeycomb. The finish reminds me a late harvest Chardonnay-very warming, although the body isn't quite as thick. There's a certain crispness that makes me think this mead is better chilled than served warm. The ABV is 13.8%, so stronger than beer but about in the range of most wines. A fine alternative to craft beer at a dinner party. Hardcore one-up your friends with this one.

Sap House mead is currently available in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, Virginia, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Washington D.C. Have you tasted it? Are you planning to? Does drinking mead make you feel like you're living in a castle? My friends, I'd like to know the answers to all of these questions. Cheers!