Honey wine is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages. The origin of the name goes back to prehistory. The word root occurs in all Indo-Germanic languages and is also the root word for "intoxication". In Sanskrit, "madhu" stands for a sweet and intoxicating drink, but also for honey. The Germanic tribes in particular cultivated the art of mead-making 3,000 years ago. They used it as an intoxicating drink at cultic festivities, and since they did not understand the effects of alcohol, many myths and legends grew up around the strange brew. They attributed the change in their senses to a secret spell, so mead soon became a gift from the gods. In addition to mead, the sweet honey wine mulsum was also extremely popular with the Romans. Today, mead is experiencing a rebirth. Drunk both hot and cold, it is a delicacy. It is made from fermented honey juice (one part honey, two to four parts water) with the addition of hops and various spices. An old recipe from 1897 describes how it is made:
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Roman Horvath MW
Domäne Wachau (Wachau)