Last month I attended the “Strangers with Style Meet and Mix” at Six Point Studios in Baltimore, MD.  The event featured a specialty cocktail mixed with mead from local meadery Charm City Meadworks.   In case you are not familiar with mead, it’s a fermented wine made from honey and water.

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Photo from the Charm City Meadworks Facebook

Charm City Meadworks makes four mead flavors, Original, Rosemary, Cinnamon and Sweet Blossom.  Some people like to drink mead straight, but it is a sweet wine and it’s often paired with opposite flavors to balance the taste. Charm City Meadworks also makes an assortment of beers in flavors such as Wildflower, Elderberry and Basil Lemongrass.  They also have seasonal flavors “Pumpkin” for Fall and “Retire by the Fire” for Winter. I’m not much of a beer person and I tend to stick with sweet beers and ciders. I did sample the beer, I forget which flavor, but it was a satisfying alternative to my usual cider.

For this event the signature cocktail was “Granddads with Style” and the mead of choice was cinnamon. It’s funny because when I was a bartender the only time I served Old Granddad Whiskey was to older men or granddads and now I’m excited to see the younger generation embracing it… everything old is new again.

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The “Old Granddad” Cocktail

This cocktail was a perfect mix of sweet with a little cinnamon spice.  I could taste the cinnamon mead flavor notes and the apple cider gave it a seasonal crisp taste.   It’s very easy to make and is a good addition to your Fall/Winter cocktail list.

Ingredients: 

1 oz  Old Granddad Bourbon Whiskey

1 oz. Charm City Meadworks Cinnamon Mead

1/2 oz Apple Cider

Splash of Peach Schnapps or Peach Syrup

Instructions: 

Pour all ingredients  into a cocktail shaker.

Shake well

Pour mix serve over ice

Garnish with a cinnamon spice apple slice

Charm City Meadworks is available for purchase at local Maryland/Washington DC farmers markets, liquor stores and wine distributors.  The cost varies ranging from $10.00 – $13.00 depending on your purchase. Charm City Meadworks also hosts tap tastings on Friday Evenings and Saturday Afternoons at their local meadery in Baltimore.  For a list of purchase locations, events and additional information, please visit their website at http://charmcitymeadworks.com/