Dried Banana Mead

This is smooth and rich and tastes like dried bananas and honey with a hint of oak. It is very easy drinking. I like it really well chilled.

Lush and a bit sweet and sitting at an ABV of 17% this is definitely a sipping mead, not one to be drunk by the mead horn. 

Crafted from dried bananas those rich dark dried fruit sugars shine through with the banana. This is not over the top banana, it is nicely prominent, yet also restrained and very well balanced with the oak.

Aged for six months in a set of large glass carboys before before being transferred to an old oak barrel for the same amount of resting time results in something really exquisite. .

This pairs well with, and stands up to, rich chocolate deserts. 

It shares well with someone special. 

Faerie Tinkle

This is a light hearted and fun Mead, it was not intended to be serious, but it is seriously delicious with its floral notes, its hints of herbs and the delicate honey undertones.

The hue is mesmerising and comes from the butterfly pea flower petals. The local forest honey is fruity and full of flavour that shines through. 

The herbal notes come from the Lemon Myrtle and Rosemary and just a hint of lavender takes it all to a Faerie Tinkle type of place.

As fun as the tinkle is, there is enough flavour complexity and sophistication to keep the beverage epicure satisfied, but really, we have other meads for serious tasting: this one is all about fun.

Add some lemon to this mead, and it becomes a lighter pink. Add some lemonade and it becomes a really bright and refreshing afternoon drink.

Add a friend and it becomes an occasion.

We asked a few people at a local market to tell us what they thought of this, here is the feedback:-

Florals on the nose immediately, not that easy to distinguish which flowers, but definitely flowers in there, not in a florist kind of way, but in a pleasant and nuanced manner. The honey also shines through but you do need to look past that bouquet.

First taste is flowers and then the mind tricks that come with the purple liquid, is that purple jelly I can taste? There is a fruity taste to it, again hard to identify the fruit, but definitely a fruity taste. Not sure where that is coming from, the honey perhaps. This is a fun drink, it is also a grown up's drink. 

Josh – Crookwell NSW

This is a really pleasant collection of flavours that just work really well together.

The after flavour is honey and petals, but is not a lingering finish.

Georgina - Berrima NSW

Makes me want to put flowers in my hair and move to Nimbin.

Naomi – Canberra

Ginger Bread Mead

Ginger can take on different flavour profiles depending on how it is treated. The warm sweet taste of ginger bread is very different to the pungent flavour of raw ginger.

When ginger is dried it gives up its pungent oils and becomes much softer, even more so as it blends with the cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg and other spices. Slowly dried, and then some of it roasted, this ginger is given very special treatment here, it is after all going to be the star of the show.

The other spices are dry toasted before being hand ground and included in the mix. All of this attention to detail is reflected in the final product: a crystal clear mead that is brimming with flavour.

With a taste that replicates sweet ginger bread, this is a very easy to drink Mead. The clover honey is present but stands aside to let the other flavours really glow. This is a Mead I will be making a lot more of but with a year of ageing in ex bourbon barrels, I would expect to sell out this batch before the next one is ready.

Sold out - Next Bottling October

Honey n Oak - Thyme Mead

This is what is referred to as a Classic, or Traditional Mead. It is simply honey water, yeast and oak. There is of course some passion in there too.

Thyme honey is considered a special rarity in the honey world, it is rich and pungent and whilst it is sweet like any other honey, it has a herbal flavour that makes it almost a savoury sweet.

When first fermented this flavour comes through strongly, it is a big and bold flavour that still needs taming. Some time out in an ex bourbon barrel sorts that out nicely.

After fourteen months of relaxation in that re-charred vessel this mead has softened and matured nicely and has resulted in a classic mead that is like no other, it is reminiscent of a very well balanced and complex metheglin, though all of those complex flavours come from the honey.

"It keeps calling me back to it" is something many people have said to us. We think it is exquisite and unique and are confident you will also.

This Mead will be going into bottle soon, this is special, it will be in big demand.

Honey n Oak - Yellow Box Mead

This is what is referred to as a Classic, or Traditional Mead. It is simply honey water, yeast and oak. There is of course some passion in there too.

Yellow Box is Australia's favourite table honey, it is a flavour we are all familiar with.

This is a light and crisp mead that represents an honest and simple mead. The acids and sweetness are well balanced, the honey shines nicely and there is only a slight perception of sweetness. 

Aged in a grand old 300 litre French Oak barrel that spent its former life in an award winning Tasmanian winery holding a special sparkling white wine base.

This Yellow Box Mead is light, it is delicious and it is extremely approachable.

This has been presented to a couple of mead tastings where it was very well received and will be going into bottle soon.

Rose Hips, Hops and Hibiscus Mead

Holding the glass up and enjoying the hue of this mead is nearly as as mesmerising as tasting it.

Rose hips are an amazing ingredient to work with, they are a fruit that is well suited to fermenting and if treated with regard throughout the process can yield a wine flavour that will proudly push many grape based wines to the back of the table. They are rich and fruity.

The hops add just a touch of bitterness to the mix as does the Hibiscus, both of these ingredients also bring some complexity of aromas and flavours along to the party.

The hibiscus brings a floral earthiness, as well as a bit of floral spice, so does the hops, though it also carries some light fruit flavours into the scene with it. 

This is a complex Mead, it is truly approachable but deserves to be more than just a casual drink. This is a Mead worthy of inspection, discovery and discussion.

It has a nice balance of tannins and fruit with layers and layers of flavours, all supported on a honey foundation. It will pair well with dishes rich in flavour. 

Our redesigned label will be out soon. 

The Deep

The Deep is a purple hue that is almost black.

Those who grew up with a smoke on the water soundtrack youth will get the name reference, otherwise, it still works well to describe this Mead.

It is not just the colour that is deep, the flavour profile is also. Big hits of unfamiliar, yet enticing herbs, roots and spices all sitting alongside a big hit of juniper creates a unique flavour experience that many become totally immersed in.

The ingredient list is made up of ingredients that featured in certain tonics and cures. This is inline with the tradition of a metheglin being a source of herbal remedies and cures. We make no such claims here, in some ways there is even some tongue in cheek to this ingredient list. 

It is nicely balanced and will please many.

Ingredients:

• Forest honey
• Butterfly Pea Flower - (Clitoria ternatea)
• Juniper (Juniperus communis)
• Thyme (Thymus vulgaris)
• Passion Flower - (Passiflora incarnata) 
• Siberian Ginseng (Eleutherococcus senticosus)
• Horny Goat Weed (Epimedium saggitatum)
• Oris Root - (Iris germanica)
• Coriander Seeds (Coriandum sativum)
• Angelica Root (Angelica archangelica)
• Lemon Rind (Citrus limon)

Using this amazing Mead in Cocktails.

The Deep Kiss
Coat the rim of a cocktail glass in lemon sherbet sugar, half fill with the Deep Mead, drop an orange ring twist on it, serve with a glint in your eyes.

Deep Martini - Swap your ratios around on this to get it just right.
1 nip (1 part) Ministry of Mead Deep Mead, 2 oz (2 parts) Gin

Into a shaker with ice and given a good shake to get it cold, pour it into a martini glass through a strainer garnish with an olive and a lemon twist.

We really like to mix this with Craftworks Distillery Gin which is bright and fresh and full of Rosemary and Lemon. The Gin from Karu Distillery has a similar profile and also works nicely. An international Gin that really impresses is Kimerud Wild Grade Gin from Norway, this takes us to an icy Nordic field. 

The Elders

Graceful and approachable, this is an elegant honey wine that quickly captivates one's attention. It is a bright and fresh fruit forward Mead that could easily become one's favourite red of all time.

It is complex, but not demanding on the palate. It finishes clean and leaves a warming afterglow.

The fruit notes are reminiscent of bright red plums and berries. The tannin is sufficient to give the Mead a chance to hang around and be enjoyed fully, but not enough to dry the palate.

The residual sweetness expresses itself as fresh fruit: it brings out the bright notes in the berries without making this a sweet wine. It is semi dry/semi sweet: I will let you decide which descriptions suits it the best.

Not too sweet, not too dry. Not too heavy, not too light. Not too bold, not too shy. Not too dark, not too bright. Not too much oak, not too little. …...... This really is a Goldilocks find.

It will continue to age gracefully in the bottle for the next three to five years, at least.

The 2020 Elders was released for public tasting at Epic in the Valley and was extremely well received, it has since been presented at other tastings and the feedback has been absolutely positive.

SOLD OUT - MORE ON THE WAY