Beverage
Metheglin
A tier
Metheglin is mead seasoned with spices or herbs—historically a medicinal as well as a feast drink. Cinnamon, clove, ginger, meadowsweet, and citrus peel are the usual cupboard; a good metheglin tastes like spiced honey wine, not like mulled syrup. The spice should ride on the honey, not bury it. Serve it slightly cool, or gently warmed in winter without boiling. It can stand in a pork glaze if the bottle is dry-ish; a dessert metheglin will only candy the pan. Do not confuse it with mulled cider poured into a mead bottle.
Track this ingredient
Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
History
Medieval metheglin was honey wine with spices, often framed as both drink and remedy.
Court and farmhouse recipes diverged: some metheglins were heavily spiced, some barely so.
Craft meaderies revived metheglin as a winter bottle rather than a curiosity.
Lighter-spiced metheglins appeared for people tired of clove-forward holiday drinks.