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Lyme Bay Jack Ratt Garden Mead is a medium-sweet English honey mead infused with fresh garden mint. It is a lighter, more refreshing style of mead. It is produced by the Lyme Bay Winery in Devon’s Axe Valley, the UK’s largest mead producer. Garden Mead takes the ancient tradition of honey wine and gives it a distinctly summery, garden-inspired twist. At 11% ABV, it is lighter and more refreshing than the traditional expression and is perfect served chilled over ice on a warm afternoon, or as a genuinely memorable spritzer with lemonade. Buy Jack Ratt Garden Mead at Fareham Wine Cellar for UK delivery or in-store collection from our shop on Fareham High Street.
Garden Mead sits alongside Jack Ratt Traditional Mead, Jack Ratt Black Cherry Mead and Jack Ratt Spiced Mead in a range that has earned Lyme Bay Winery its reputation as the UK’s most innovative mead producer. All Jack Ratt meads are made with quality honey using traditional methods, without artificial colours or flavourings.
The Jack Ratt range of meads is named after John Rattenbury – a real 18th-century Devon smuggler known as “The Rob Roy of the West.” Born in Beer, Devon, Rattenbury led a remarkable life as a fisherman, pilot, seaman, and smuggler before publishing his memoirs in 1837: “Memoirs of a Smuggler, compiled from his diary and journal.” The spirit of the Devon coast and its colourful characters runs through the entire Jack Ratt range, from the traditional mead to the flavoured expressions that have built the brand a devoted following.
Founded in 1993 in Devon’s beautiful Axe Valley near Axminster, Lyme Bay Winery is the UK’s largest producer of mead and fruit wines — and one of England’s most celebrated wineries. The winery began as a small cider producer and has grown into a major producer of English wines, gins, rums, liqueurs, and the Jack Ratt mead and cider ranges. Their Lyme Bay Pinot Noir won Gold Medals at both the IWC and IWSC 2025, while the Lyme Bay Shoreline remains one of the finest value English white wines available. Lyme Bay is the only English winery to hold an A* accreditation from the British Retail Consortium for manufacturing quality.
Pale gold in the glass, with a delicate, honeyed clarity. The nose is immediately inviting – sweet honey leads, with a distinctive and refreshing lift of fresh garden mint that gives the wine its character. On the palate, it is medium-sweet, smooth, and light-bodied, with a sweet toffee apple note alongside the honey and a clean minty freshness that lingers on the finish. Refreshing without being sharp, sweet without being cloying – a genuinely crowd-pleasing summer drink that works equally well as an aperitif, a dessert wine, or the basis of an excellent mead spritzer.
What is mead?
Mead is one of the oldest alcoholic drinks in the world – a honey beverage made by fermenting honey and water with yeast. Thought to date back to Babylonian times, it is referenced in ancient Greek mythology, the Norse sagas, and English literature, including Beowulf and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Mead styles range from bone dry to very sweet, and from still to sparkling, with flavoured meads (called metheglins when made with herbs or spices) representing a long-established tradition.
What does Jack Ratt Garden Mead taste like?
Jack Ratt Garden Mead is medium-sweet, smooth, and light-bodied, with a gentle honey sweetness, a fresh garden mint character, and a subtle toffee apple note. It is lighter and more refreshing than a traditional mead — approachable for first-time mead drinkers and excellent chilled over ice on a warm day.
What is the alcohol content of Jack Ratt Garden Mead?
Jack Ratt Garden Mead is 11% ABV — lighter than the Jack Ratt Traditional Mead (14.5% ABV) and closer in strength to a standard table wine.
What is the difference between Jack Ratt Garden Mead and Traditional Mead?
Jack Ratt Traditional Mead is a rich, full-bodied honey wine at 14.5% ABV with deep honeycomb flavours and a warming finish. Garden Mead is a lighter, more refreshing expression at 11% ABV, infused with fresh garden mint for a summery, clean character. Garden Mead is better served chilled and is more suited to warm-weather drinking; Traditional Mead suits cool evenings and pairs well with cheese and hearty food.
How do you make a mead spritzer?
Combine 50ml of Jack Ratt Garden Mead with chilled lemonade over plenty of ice in a tall glass. Garnish with a sprig of fresh mint. The mint in the mead and the lemon in the lemonade complement each other perfectly — it is one of the most refreshing and original summer drinks you can make.
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