Meet Evan Anderson | Mead Baron

We had the good fortune of connecting with Evan Anderson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Evan, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Mead has a lot of roots in our history that have been overlooked or forgotten. One of them is that the term honeymoon actually stems from mead. You were traditionally supposed to have enough mead (sometimes known as honey wine) to drink for a whole moon cycle following the wedding, hence the term, honeymoon! The newly weds were supposed to drink mead for a month to help increase fertility and virility. I had decided to make 30 gallons of mead in different flavors for my wife and I’s wedding as a way to honor this tradition. Everyone that came to wedding loved the mead so much they drank it all that night and were calling us the next morning seeing if we had any of the “mead stuff” still leftover that they could take home. I was a fish biologist at the time and was looking for a change in career that would keep me closer to home and we figured if people enjoyed the mead we made so much, maybe we could start selling it.

What should our readers know about your business?
If fermenting honey doesn’t separate us enough as being unique in the alcohol industry, our methods of production certainly do. We use no chemical preservatives to make a shelf stable product. We came up with filtration system that allows us to make a mead that is delicious right off the bat, and can also age well without using any sort of sulfite or sorbate.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Day 1 Arrival-Come to the Drinking Horn Mead Hall and order Proper Meats delivered at the Mead Hall for dinner. Buy a bottle of Prickly Pear mead to take home. Day 2- Get up at 4 am and go watch the sunrise over the Grand Canyon. Enjoy Grand Canyon. Drink your Prickly Pear mead while watching the sunset at the Grand Canyon. Stay at the El Tovar.
Day 3- Travel back to Flagstaff and go to the top of Snow Bowl, ski if the snow is good. Bring your ski pass to Drinking Horn Mead Hall for a discount on a hot cocktail and pair it with a lovely charcuterie board.
Day 4- Book a jeep tour in Sedona and go check out those beautiful red rocks for the day. Return to Flagstaff for a glass of New Mexican Mead paired with Martanne’s cheese enchiladas. Grab a bottle of Bluetooth mead to go.
Day 5- Go on a hike around Flagstaff and have a picnic with Bluetooth mead, cheese, crackers, and grapes.
Day 6- Enjoy walking around downtown Flagstaff and check out the amazing local businesses. Grab a Root-bee-ah mead and a Lumberjack Pizza at Drinking Horn Mead Hall, Then go to Lowell Observatory to enjoy some star gazing.
Day 7- start making your itinerary for your next trip to Flagstaff.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We dedicate our shoutout to our family, friends, employees, and customers. They have all helped get Drinking Horn to where it is today. No business succeeds as the result of one person, it takes a team. Surround yourself with people that are smarter than you, and your business can go far.

Website: www.drinkinghornmeadery.com

Instagram: @drinkinghornmeadery

Twitter: @drinkthemead

Facebook: @drinkinghornmeadery

Yelp: Drinking Horn Meadery

Youtube: Drinking Horn Meadery