A Drink of Fire and Health
Your first glance of it being poured will draw you in with a color much like a ruby gem. Light finding its way through just enough to catch the glints of light behind Your first smell will send thoughts of a floral field into your brain, while hinting at a bright honey sweetness you remember from somewhere in your past. Your first sip will tell you that there is something quite unique in your glass, and soon after, the tickle of fermented honey, fruit skin, and berry richness will fill your spirit.
What is Elderberry Anyway?
Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) is a tall shrub, usually getting a little taller than the height of two NBA basketball players. It is deciduous, meaning it will lose its foliage during the colder months and tends to have it’s delicious fruits ready for man and wildlife sometime in the fall. You may think that it’s name, Elderberry, comes from some reference of being old or one of the wiser people of a tribe, but it actually derives from the word æld. The hollow stems of the shrub were used as a bellow to stoke fires and, well, you guessed it, æld means “fire”.
Good For the Body
Most of the plant has been used for medicinal products throughout a good portion of written history. The bark was used as either a diuretic or to sometimes produce a laxative effect when needed. The flowers and leaves can be used for pain relief or reduce inflammation and swelling. As honey also has anti-inflammatory properties, elderberry mead might just be something to reach for after a hard workout or maybe a shoulder or back sprain!
Not only were the dried berries and juice from the berries used in the past to treat influenza, they are commonly still used for this purpose by naturopaths today. Modern studies (as recent as 2019) have shown the properties in elderberries to be a significant suppressor in influenza symptoms and infection growth
Recent paper on health benefits https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1756464619300313
Elderberry Meets Honey
Prior to 2019, Drinking Horn had not had elderberries on the radar for anything, let alone a delicious mead. Enter… The Terra Birds! Connecting with the earth is an important lesson that not enough students get to experience. Terra BIRDS is an organization in Flagstaff, AZ that provides lessons and opportunities in environmental stewardship through school gardening programs. One of the plants that are grown each year by the Terra BIRDS happens to be elderberry and in the summer of 2019, they introduced Founders and owners Evan and Kelly to its deliciousness. Obviously the first thing on their minds was to make a Mead out of it! Now, we have produced our second batch and feel that it has only gotten better. The elderberry flavor seems to be much brighter and tends to play very well with the orange blossom honey!
Mead Slinger quotes:
Peter: “Elderberry for me looks like a cure in a glass. Red as a rare jewel; it drinks like a magical elixir. No wonder we sell out so quickly.”
Nichole: “I would describe elderberries as naturally tart but perfectly balanced by the sweetness of honey. The elderberry mead is a delicious winter tonic.”
A Perfect Fit
At Drinking Horn Meadery, we strive to create an atmosphere of simplicity. We yearn for simple times, simple creations, and simple solutions. Elderberries fit that perfectly, as a simple gift from mother nature that can not only soothe what ails you, but also give you a warm little pep in your step and a smile on your face. We invite you to add a new winter tradition to your gathering table. A bottle of Elderberry Mead will not only fill your glasses with a delicious treat; it will give your immune system a beautiful little spark and turn down the flames of your body while you turn UP the fire of the Hearth.
Elderberry Mead Cocktail Recipe
Búri: The Eldest Elder
A very simple mixer that will refresh the end to any day or perk up a mid winters brunch
2:1 ratio of Elderberry Mead and Elderberry Cordial.
Chill ever so slightly and garnish with a sprig of rosemary