Let’s talk alcohol. Traverse City and the surrounding area ferment. distill, and hop at any chance to make drinks of the unmixed variety. (get it – hop – beer) Since I know very little about, well, anything, especially alcohol, I’ve decided to educate myself. And, dedicate a post every so often to what I learn about spirited beverages and the intricacies that go into their production. Chemistry and ‘recipes’ are involved. I’m a pharmacist that cooks. I think I can handle this. As for the blog, think Ode and MasterCard moment walk into the local tavern with www.askadamthomasrph.com as the bartender. Really, it’s not that complicated. And, if it’s totally lame, I’ll do the whole Blogger’s Anonymous thing. Okay?
So, … . Let’s begin.
Here in Northern Michigan there are countless tap houses and tasting rooms that serve some of the best beer, hard cider, whiskey, wine and …
MEAD
noun: a fermented beverage made of water and honey, malt, and yeast. Thought to be the oldest alcoholic beverage known to man.
The history of mead may go back more than 8,000 years. The oldest known meads were created on the Island of Crete. Wine had not yet been created. Mead was the drink of the Age of Gold, and the word for drunk in classical Greek remained “honey-intoxicated.
The tapestry of mead history is rich and wonderful. References are littered throughout history and literature. Chaucer speaks of making Claret sweeter with the addition of honey. In 1771 Smollett writes that knowledge of mead-making is considered one of the arts of a true country gentleman. Queen Elizabeth was known to have her own favorite recipe, including rosemary, bay leaves, sweet briar and thyme. But perhaps Howell, Clerk to the Privy Council, said it best in 1640 when he wrote, “The juice of bees, not Bacchus, here behold, Which British Bards were wont to quaff of old; The berries of the grape with Furies swell, But in the honey comb the Graces dwell.”
Internet sources: Merriam-Webster.com, beer100.com , skyriverbrewing.com
Unlike life, this post has great timing. New Years Eve is fast approaching. To be perfectly honest, I’m not of fan of the holiday. NYE is like a birthday – high expectation / low yield. Even when there are no-expectation-whatsoever, that yield bar still takes a hit. I blame women. Oh, and retail pharmacy customers, of course. That’s when this whole mead thing will come in handy. Alcohol makes everything better, right? I’ve never been a big drinker myself. Though, I’ve recently been told I should think about drinking more. Honey-intoxicated does sound interesting. Hmmm … . Anyway, what better way to put this Random Nonsense to use than to drink mead, celebrating the New Year.
Because there is no better example of the expectation/yield concept, I will close with this ‘challenged’ couple in a ‘balanced’ movie clip.
Happy 2017
Oh, yeah, please drink responsibly. I need all the followers I can get.
