🍯 Honey spirit drinks

Honey spirit drinks fall into two EU categories: honey spirit (11), a distillate of fermented honey mash with at least 35 % vol., and honey nectar or mead nectar (44), containing at least 30 % fermented honey mash, at least 22 % vol. Mead itself is a fermentation product.

Honey mash is fermented and distilled below 86 % vol.; honey spirit is not flavoured and is sweetened only with honey, up to 20 g/l. Honey nectar is a blend of fermented honey mash with honey distillate or ethyl alcohol; it is flavoured only with natural flavourings so that the honey taste prevails, and sweetened only with honey. The minimum limits and names are set in Annex I of EU Regulation 2019/787.

Honey-based liqueurs belong to liqueurs (33). Among the “other drinks” in the EU list of protected names are Ronmiel de Canarias and Ostpreußischer Bärenfang.

Honey is an ancient raw material of the Ukrainian lands: the Encyclopedia of Modern Ukraine names beer and intoxicating mead as the oldest alcoholic drinks on these lands, while horilka appeared at the end of the 15th century. Honey is also part of the Ukrainian nalyvka tradition: nalyvky are made from horilka with herbs, honey, spices and berries.

Why it matters to you. The word “mead” does not mean a strong distillate: it is usually fermented honey, which is not among the EU spirit drinks. The names “honey spirit” and “honey nectar” guarantee a minimum strength and honey content. Look for the strength in % vol. WHO: no safe level of alcohol exists.

Other sections of this topic: Liqueurs; Egg and cream liqueurs; Ukrainian spirit traditions; Mulled wine and fortified wines; Fruit brandies; Bitters and bitter spirits; Milk-based and rare distillates; How spirits are made; Label, law and health. All sections are gathered on the “Spirits” page.