Some readers don’t like cocktails. They like their booze simple. For them, we here at Drink Local are featuring mead, the anti-cocktail. What’s more basic than hooch drunk from the Serengeti to the Fjords since before record? It’s one of the oldest boozes; mead, honey beer, tej. But brewers have added herbs, altered receipts, and added additional ingredients to make it taste better and better. Isn’t that what cocktails are all about, making booze taste better and more enjoyable. Could mead actually be the original cocktail?

There has been something of a resurgence in its creation and consumption, a mead-issance if you will. Nectar Creek is one of many on the forefront with their whole new take. Not syrupy, not sickeningly thick, their Propolis is light, refined and refreshingly refreshing. Made with all Oregon ingredients, even though Eugene is a little far for a ‘local’ producer, this kind of quality demands a little bit of leeway.

This light session mead is transparent yellow with a surprising amount of carbonation. With just a hint of peach it tastes like a light desert meant for sharing with a group. The flavor starts sweet and peachy then gets crazy with a hint of smoky cedar notes and esther undertones. The finish is like the aftertaste of a spoonfull of honey. Gluten-Free and only 5.5 percent alcohol. Even your celiac marathon running aunt will be down for a nip.