Jack Ratt Traditional Mead, Lyme Bay Winery 14.5%

Description

Jack Ratt Traditional Mead is a sweet, delicious mead packed with rich and deep honey flavours. 

Jack Ratt Traditional Mead is made by the Lyme Bay Winery which is based at Shute, near Axminster, in Dorset. Lyme Bay Cider was founded 20 years ago in 1994 and has grown from a small shop selling cider to a large winery producing ciders, wines, meads, liqueurs and has, more recently, expanded greatly into English Wines.

Mead is thought to be one of the oldest alcoholic drinks produced. There is evidence of its production found in artefacts from cultures around the world, including ancient Greece, China and Northern Europe. In many early societies, mead was considered a drink of the Gods and was used in religious ceremonies and celebrations. It was thought to be an elixir of health, fertility and longevity. It is also mentioned in both Beowulf and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. After declining in popularity for many years it has seen a resurgence which many people put down to the “Game of Thrones” effect.

Mead is produced by diluting honey with water and then fermenting it with yeast. The specific yeast strains and type of honey (location, type of plant it comes from etc) can produce a wide range of mead styles. Mead styles range from very sweet to dry and the alcohol content from about 8% to over 20% ABV, depending on the recipe and fermentation process. It can also be made into a sparkling drink. Many producers flavour meads with fruits, spices, herbs or other flavourings. Jack Ratt Spice Mead is flavoured with Christmas-y spices including cinnamon, for example.

Jack Ratt meads are named after a famous 18th Century local smuggler called Jack Rattenbury who was known as the “Rob Roy of the West”. In 1837, after a life at sea as a fisherman, pilot, seaman and smuggler, Rattenbury wrote the book “Memoirs of a Smuggler, compiled from his diary and journal: containing the principal events in the life of John Rattenbury, of Beer, Devonshire; commonly called “The Rob Roy of the West”.