A Summer Cocktail Recipe to Beat the Heat in Detroit

inding the right beverage to enhance your summer cookout can be priceless, but don’t break your bank trying to one-up the Joneses. Here’s when a chilled quaff of mead truly shines as a fermented drink that looks and tastes ritzy-even if it isn’t.

“Unlike wine, there isn’t a lot of pretense with mead,” says Kenneth Schramm, local mead-making pro and owner of Schramm’s Mead in Ferndale. “It’s similar to other beverages but it has it’s own style.”

In Ethiopia-where it’s a popular summer cooler-they call it “tej,” but you may know it locally as honey-wine. And its versatility as a cocktail ingredient and in food pairings, Schramm explains, has made mead a favorite among those in the know.

“The Ethiopians have known this for a long time. Any spicy robust flavors will go really well with mead,” says Schramm. “It’s as versatile as wine.”

Mead is a fitting alternative to a dry white wine and can be used to make sangria, mojitos or this creative Detroit-centric number that will surely have the neighbors talking at your next cookout …

Detroit Ginger

• 1 part ginger mead
• 1 part Vernors
• Twist of lemon
• Serve in chilled glass. Tastes like gold!

For more recipes and information about mead selections, visit SchrammsMead.com.