Sometimes I think about how living in Delaware there are things I miss out on. (I’m talking about you, Ikea. Why don’t you have a location in The Great State yet?) One thing we just don’t have readily available are wineries. We definitely have our fair share of breweries that are generally accessible statewide, but our pathetic three wineries (I haven’t visited any of them. I know it’s a DelaDarling fail, but I’m saying the number is pathetic not the quality!) are all located downstate.
As I was lamenting this fact while nursing my wine crawl hangover on Saturday my friend came up with this brilliant idea: Continue the party into Saturday night by heading to a preview at the new Liquid Alchemy Beverages near Elsmere.
Y’all know I love a good Saturday night tasting and that I love hanging out in Wilmington, so off I went!
In short, the owners and volunteers/employees were super cool, knew a lot about mead and even taught me a few things. Even though I’d had mead before and knew it was honeywine, I didn’t know a lot of the specifics that really make it different than a traditional wine, so it was cool to get a behind the scenes tour!
We also did a tasting, and for a recently opened Mom & Pop shop I was blown away. Of course, the mead was good and clearly the most important thing, but they had eight varieties available for tasting and purchase. For a small scale hobby turned business that’s an impressive repertoire!
Even though I was finally coming out of my Saturday morning hungover stupor, I managed to try all eight varieties. Just a sip each – possibly less alcohol than a swig of cough syrup! (That being said, the hangover did keep me from remembering to take any pictures, but there’s always next time!)
My fav was the Red Cowabunga, “blended fresh Bing Cherries and Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Beans.” Seriously, you guys, so good. I likened it to a cherry vanilla coke. I could honestly imagine making a sweet little ice cream float with this number – can’t wait!
My cousin Ashley raved about the Cosmo-Naughty, a classed up mead Cosmo, and her hubs Steve really liked the Thai-Grrr, a Thai Chili Pepper and fresh lime mead. He even started working out some food pairings and a little recipe integration.
(Can you tell we’re foodies? And that we LOVED Liquid Alchemy?)
Anyway, here’s the good stuff:
- LAB is having their grand opening on September 10th. Here is the FB event.
- They have a little something for everybody when it comes to flavors, but be forewarned that in my opinion mead is sweeter than wine. (It’s the honey!)
- They’re total nerds. You’ll see what I mean, but just look for the Dr. Who and Star Wars references…and other nerdy fandoms, and you’ll see what I mean.
- LAB is almost located in an industrial park, which translates to sketchy from the outside, super cool on the inside. Just double check for their sign out front!
- Here’s an actually informational story at Delaware Online.
- The only way to keep small and awesome businesses like this alive in Delaware is to visit and become a regular patron! I know I’ll be heading back and already have an idea or two for Christmas gifts…
- This post, while I’m sure was entertaining, really doesn’t do it justice, so you’ll really have to check it out for yourself.
- I totally forgot to mention our rad tour guide. I can’t remember his name, but shout out to the guy who teaches at A. I. Middle School; you were awesome and kept us laughing the whole way through!
