3 Modern Mead Cocktails (With JORVIK Viking Centre)

For most people, drinking traditional honey mead belongs exclusively to historical re-enactment, medieval banquets, or seasonal blóts where it's poured straight into a drinking horn (hopefully one of our!). But what happens when you bring an ancient, raw honey ferment into modern mixology?

This past Friday, we teamed up with the JORVIK Viking Centre in York for a private event dedicated to the Norse sagas feasting. While we spent plenty of time discussing the sagas and how mead was drunk during sacred hall ceremonies like the Bragarfull, our primary mission behind the bar was practical: to test our Traditional Yorkshire Honey Mead against three classic cocktail profiles.

The verdict from the room was immediate. Mead is not merely an alternative to dessert wine or cider; it is a powerhouse cocktail modifier. Its unpasteurized honey notes round out the sharp botanical edges of dry gin, temper the fiery molasses of dark rum, and lend rich, velvety undertones to cask-aged whiskey.

If you have a bottle of our Traditional Honey Mead (12.5% ABV) on your shelf, here are the three recipes we created with JORVIK for your home bar.

1. The Mead Collins

A botanical, floral riff on the quintessential Tom Collins.

The Mead Collins cocktail in a highball glass garnished with a lemon wheel at JORVIK Viking Centre event

The Tom Collins is known for crisp, sharp refreshment. By splitting the base between London Dry Gin and our Traditional Mead, the sharpness of fresh lemon is softened by natural clover and wildflower honey, resulting in an exceptionally balanced long drink.

• 2 oz / 60 ml London Dry Gin
• 1 oz / 30 ml Horns of Odin Traditional Honey Mead
• 1/2 oz / 15 ml Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
• 1/2 oz / 15 ml Honey Syrup (1:1 warm water to raw wildflower honey, stirred and chilled)
• 5 oz / 140 ml Club Soda / Carbonated Spring Water
• Garnish: Fresh lemon wheel

Method: Add gin, mead, lemon juice, and honey syrup to a highball glass (or one of our hand-carved horn tumblers) packed with cubed ice. Top with chilled soda water, stir gently from the bottom to lift the syrup, and crown with the lemon wheel.

2. The Dark N' Meady

The crowd favourite at JORVIK: our Norse-inspired take on the Dark 'n' Stormy.

The Dark N Meady cocktail with rum and ginger beer garnished with candied ginger and lime wheel

The Dark 'n' Stormy originated among sailors in Bermuda, but pairing heavy dark rum with 'honey wine' and fiery ginger beer feels right at home in a northern timber hall. The acidity of fresh lime cuts straight through the heavier elements, while the mead adds length and depth.

• 2 oz / 60 ml Aged Dark Rum or Black Spiced Rum
• 1 oz / 30 ml Horns of Odin Traditional Honey Mead
• 1/2 oz / 15 ml Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
• 1/4 oz / 10 ml Honey Syrup
• 5 oz / 140 ml Fiery Ginger Beer
• Dash of Angostura Bitters
• Garnish: Candied ginger skewer and fresh lime wheel

Method: Fill a tall glass with ice. Add mead, lime juice, honey syrup, and bitters. Pour in the ginger beer, leaving an inch at the top. Gently float the dark rum over the surface. Present the layered drink with candied ginger and lime, stirring just before the first sip.

3. Mazer's Highball

A craftsman's highball with rich wood, grain, and honeycomb character.

Mazers Highball whiskey and mead cocktail garnished with expressed orange peel

In the medieval period, a mazer was a skilled turner who crafted ceremonial drinking bowls from seasoned maple burl. This highball is built in that artisan spirit: rich blended whiskey, honey mead, and crisp soda, tied together with the natural citrus oils of an expressed orange peel.

• 1 1/2 oz / 45 ml Whiskey (Single malt, Bourbon, or a rich blended Scotch)
• 1 oz / 30 ml Horns of Odin Traditional Honey Mead
• 3/4 oz / 25 ml Honey Syrup
• 5 oz / 140 ml Cold Soda Water
• Garnish: Orange peel slither, trimmed, expelled, and wiped along the rim

Method: Add whiskey, mead, and honey syrup to a chilled glass with large clear ice cubes. Top slowly with soda water to retain carbonation. Express a sliver of orange peel over the glass to release the oils, wipe the rim, and submerge the peel.