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goblet, tankard or horn

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Other than braggots, mead is kind of a girly/yuppie drink honestly, assuming one also considers wines to fit those descriptors. ;)

At it's most tough-guy mead is only about as tough-guy as a dry red or white wine, and most meads people make are more along the lines of a sweet rose wine or sweet white. I find it pretty comical actually when I explain to people what mead is, or give them a taste, and they have pictures in their heads of these big vikings (who were only one of a zillion cultures who did/do drink mead) drinking what is basically liquid candy-booze. ;D

Smell is a key part of taste too, and even with something like beer, stopping to take a whiff now and then can very much enhance the perception of the flavour.

I certainly don't mean to be down on anyone who'd rather drink mead out of whatever they want, be it a horn or a thermos, but as I think I already said earlier in this thread, I think people come into mead with some major misconceptions about what kind of drink it is.

EDIT TO ADD: As a "tough guy" myself, (Shaved head, big beard, muscles, heavily tattoo'd, big stretched ear piercings) I find a good trick to make it feel a little less yuppie to talk about is to use more common terms. I like to say "smell" or "aroma" instead of "nose" or so on, and taste buds instead of palate, you get the idea. It's not technically the best usage of the English language, but it does make one feel a little less goofy when saying these things outloud!
 
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AToE said:
Other than braggots, mead is kind of a girly/yuppie drink honestly, assuming one also considers wines to fit those descriptors. ;)

At it's most tough-guy mead is only about as tough-guy as a dry red or white wine, and most meads people make are more along the lines of a sweet rose wine or sweet white. I find it pretty comical actually when I explain to people what mead is, or give them a taste, and they have pictures in their heads of these big vikings (who were only one of a zillion cultures who did/do drink mead) drinking what is basically liquid candy-booze. ;D

Smell is a key part of taste too, and even with something like beer, stopping to take a whiff now and then can very much enhance the perception of the flavour.

I certainly don't mean to be down on anyone who'd rather drink mead out of whatever they want, be it a horn or a thermos, but as I think I already said earlier in this thread, I think people come into mead with some major misconceptions about what kind of drink it is.

EDIT TO ADD: As a "tough guy" myself, (Shaved head, big beard, muscles, heavily tattoo'd, big stretched ear piercings) I find a good trick to make it feel a little less yuppie to talk about is to use more common terms. I like to say "smell" or "aroma" instead of "nose" or so on, and taste buds instead of palate, you get the idea. It's not technically the best usage of the English language, but it does make one feel a little less goofy when saying these things outloud!
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I will add that I have done some half-way extensive comparisons with beers and meads with different glasses, and the difference is impressive. Mead tastes much better (to me) out of a wine glass than a mug, pint glass, water glass, etc.

What I would like is some stemless glasses for when I have larger gatherings. Stems are nice to keep it whatever temp you started it at, but are a bit awkard at a party.

EDIT: will also add that I've never compared expensive glasses with cheap, just different shapes. Not sure what difference an expensive one would make other than colour, and overall strength/craftmanship.
 
AToE said:
I will add that I have done some half-way extensive comparisons with beers and meads with different glasses, and the difference is impressive. Mead tastes much better (to me) out of a wine glass than a mug, pint glass, water glass, etc.

What I would like is some stemless glasses for when I have larger gatherings. Stems are nice to keep it whatever temp you started it at, but are a bit awkard at a party.

EDIT: will also add that I've never compared expensive glasses with cheap, just different shapes. Not sure what difference an expensive one would make other than colour, and overall strength/craftmanship.
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Mead to me tastes funny when not out of the horn, just something is missing, but then my nose fits in the horn when taking a drink so you get a good whiff when drinking it.

I want to get some Belgian Goblets for beer, those had a short stem...
 
calicojack said:
how's the wood handling the various flavors? does it absorb at all? i had thought about this as well.
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Have only used it a few times for some "red rum" provided by the pyrates at the first anual Battlemoor in colorado but seemed to hold up good. As long as you use a close grained wood and dont let a liquid sit in it to long (ya like that's a problem witnh mead) it should hold up fine.
 
Well I tend to use two different drinking vessels. If I am having a fun time and just goofing around with friends, I'll use a clay pottery/stoneware mug that I bought at the RenFest.
mug.jpg


If I am enjoying a nice reflective time, enjoying a fine Cigar or just want to enjoy both the boquet of the Mead, I'll use one of my Guinness pint glasses.

guinness-glass-toucan.jpg


Both the Pint Glass and my Mug enable me to have an ample amount of Mead to enjoy without having to visit the bottle again.. :)

Lastly Redstone meadery has some goublets that they designed specifically for mead..I'd be interested if anyone has tried them. I might just ask for some for Christmas, of course I'll have to have a couple of bottles of their mead..lol I am going to post a pic of their goblets for reference. I hope they and no one here minds. I do not work for the Redstone meadery or do I know anyone that does.

goblet.jpg


I think what it comes down to is choice of the individual who is drinking or serving mead. I don't want a dainty wine glass as I have big hands. I want something that I can sit down and not worry if it's the ground, concrete, wooden picnic table or the counter. That's my preference.

Enjoy!

Mike
 
I like the drinking horn -- is this the meadmaker's verion of the yard glass? ;D

My preference is function over form when it comes to mead or wine, even beer for that matter. I picked up one of Sam Adam's tasting glasses recently and it's really great for a good craft beer. Tulip wine glasses suit me for mead.

I also like the just for fun and relaxation stuff. I have a Ren-Faire mug, very nicely crafted with a dragon handle which I'll use for just about anything.

The Redstone Meadery glasses -- they look more like something meant for merchandising the meadery, but may also be suited for their Nectar meads? I understand these are low gravity melomels, well suited for a general consumer niche where there isn't much familiarity with mead.

The tough guy stereo type -- doesn't always work! ;D An ER doc who used to work with us before moving on to Indiana looked and sounded like what he's been for most of his adult life, a gym rat. Big guy, 224 lbs with not much left over from the muscle, tribal tatoo around a bicep. His Chicago city accent would slip out when he was stressed. Think his bench press was around 400 lbs. On the other hand, he was a hard core metro guy, into good food, cuisine at home, and good wine, something you wouldn't expect!

Don't knock the girly/yuppie meads too much, think another word for them is LPR. ;D

--
 
As to the Redstone glasses, they work well for a bar situation/for their meads, but I'm not terribly impressed by them.

Also, on taking a minute to sniff whatever you're drinking. You taste buds are very, VERY limited in their ability to taste different flavors. Around 90% of "taste" comes from what you smell. Your nose is a highly evolved appendage, that can detect and distinguish thousands of different scents.

So, while I understand that smelling your mead/wine may seem snobbish, but if you want the most out of your glass, you might reconsider your judgement about smelling before you drink.
 
got some smallish horns on the way. they are kinda ugly (in the picture) and need to be polished. so for now i'll drink from one and polish the other.

couldn't bring myself to spend $150+ on a wooden or leather tankard.
 
Where did you end up ordering them from?

It's been quite a few years, but when I went online shopping for horns, they were far and few between. Also, very expensive! I finally ordered one from a guy in Canada. He took my money and never shipped it. :-( I had a hard time getting pay pal to refund me. Ended up having to get my credit card company that I paid pay pal with to do it.

I ended up going to a local rennisance (spelling?) faire. They had a nice selection of drinking horns, and at a reasonable price too. They were also finished and ready for drinking.

The big horn I found at a voodoo shop in New Orleans. If you've been on Bourbon Street, you'd recognize the store. Bringing it back on the plane was an interesting experience. ;-) I don't think you could even do that now days! I had a hard time getting it cleaned out as it had all the flesh and stuff still in it. Dried, but still in it!

If you do make your own, check out EnviroTex Lite. It is a "food safe" epoxy. There is no such thing as "food grade" in epoxies, so food safe has to do. They use it in bars for the counters and such. Anyhow, is is a mess, and takes a long time to set up, but it will slowly coat the inside and make a cleanable surface if you don't want to have the horn in contact with yoru drink. I spun the horn for half an hour slowly while it dried. Kept it from flowing to one side or down to the bottom.
 
jkane said:
The big horn I found at a voodoo shop in New Orleans... I had a hard time getting it cleaned out as it had all the flesh and stuff still in it. Dried, but still in it!
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I'm all for drinking horns, but I'd encourage anyone finding one with flesh still in it to be very careful. Even dried, it can contain some nasty things like spores of Anthrax which can be found in cattle. Handle with caution.
 
ebay of all places. i did a search for "drinking horns" which turned up several "pretty" horns ranging from $10-$99. then i did a search for cow horn

this is what i ended up getting, mostly cause it was like $10.75 shipped for the pair.
 
I got a drinking horn for my birthday! I'm going to seal it with the same beeswax I used to seal my drinking gourd.

I swear this thing's from a Texas Longhorn or something, I bet it holds more than a litre!! It's been cleaned out already, doesn't smell at all, and the edges are a little thin and starting to delaminate a bit at the edge (kind of how my fingernails split and peel) and I figure if I make a lip with the wax that should protect it...
 
I have been using a small sterling silver whiskey glass, it only holds about 4-5 oz as my main drinking vessel. It keeps the bottle from emptying too fast and allows a good aroma from the mead. It is also kinda cool to sip mead out of a silver cup. I also have a silver tankard that holds about 12 oz but it is an old family piece and it is tucked away somewhere safe. I made a drinking horn a few years ago from a small cow horn that holds around 9-10 oz and painted the inside with food grade epoxy paint which was left over from painting the inside of my honey extractor. The horn is kinda cool looking with a piece of Y shaped deer antler glued to it as feet. I covered the glue joint with a turks head knot made out of leather thong so it looks like the antler is tied onto the horn. I only break it out for full moons, successful honey harvests or sacrifices on the grill. My more conventional mead glasses are wine glasses with a stem or a small brandy snifter. I try real hard not to drink straight from the bottle, it just does not seem right.
 
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