By Bob Barnes
Deadwood Meadery, the first and only meadmaking facility in the Las Vegas Valley, just celebrated its second anniversary and is thriving, with plans to expand its off-premises sales. Located at 7705 Commercial Way #100, it’s technically in The Henderson Booze District but is situated next to the Toyota dealership on the west side of Eastgate Road.
In case you aren’t familiar with what mead is, it’s kind of a cousin to beer and wine as it is fermented honey with oftentimes additions of fruit, herbs or spices. It’s also where the word honeymoon originates.
Deadwood Meadery is the creation of Owner/Operator/ Meadmaker Tom Nichols, who got into meadmaking while working as a bartender and wanting a softer fortified drink to put in cocktails. When he realized how costly it was for shipping commercial meads, he decided it was time the valley had its own production facility. The process from start to finish takes about two to three months for flavored and three to six months for traditional mead.
Nichols chose the Deadwood name because it elicits thoughts of Old Vegas when it was a railroad stopover drinking hole in the middle of the desert at the turn of the 20th century. The tasting room lends a Southwestern feel with a wall mural painted by local artist Luis Abrego featuring cacti, a dead tree, skeleton atop a horse and the ridgeline of Frenchman Mountain (aka Sunrise). There are also old-timey antique sofas and chairs.
Two of the more popular creations that are frequently pouring are the Umbra – lower alcohol (6.9% ABV), sparkling traditional mead – and Rage Against Florence, still (uncarbonated), balanced in extremities of big flavors of sweet, tart and tonic with black currant, pomegranate and Madagascar vanilla bean (14% ABV).
Nichols has the freedom to play around with myriad ingredients and is not shy about doing so. Wild Child (5.8% ABV) is the first wild fermented mead made on the West Coast. It is made with wildflower honey (including some from Argentina, India and Hawaii), pineapple and a neutral yeast combined with a wild lactobacillus lactic acid yeast. Chantilly Lace (14% ABV) is Chantilly cake-inspired infused with raspberries, blueberries, almonds and Madagascar vanilla and somehow tastes like the cake.
Perhaps the most innovative is Fyve Alyve. Reminiscent of the Five Alive punch Nichols enjoyed as a kid, the Minute Maid product is no longer made in the U.S., but is made in Canada, so Nichols purchased some online and played around with the ingredient list of tangerine, grapefruit, orange, lemon and lime juices till he found a match. This 6.9% ABV nostalgic citrus punch mead is so refreshing and easy drinking, you’ll have to remind yourself it contains alcohol.
The best way to enjoy the meads is to seek guidance from one of the meadtenders, who will ask about what flavors you like to create a custom experience to best fit your palate. If you want to enjoy some at home, they have a growler machine that can seal your favorite into a 12 oz. can, and there are varieties in 375 ml bottles.
A popular event is Game Night every Monday from 4-9 p.m. Customers are invited to play board and card games while enjoying discounts and giveaways. On Thursdays, there’s a BOGO promotion of 50% off a 4-pack or 25% off a bottle.
Coming up soon will be Crappy Movie night, which runs from October through December typically on Thursdays and/ or Sundays, featuring movies with ratings so bad, they’re good. Two movies are shown, one at 5 p.m. and one at 7. The event is free, and there is popcorn available for purchase.
Reflecting on the past two years, Nichols said, “It’s been extremely educational and rewarding. It’s fulfilling to be able to serve the community directly to both create and serve with our products.”
He recently hired an assistant and has taken a step back from meadmaking to concentrate more on direct sales and preparing for the launch of nationwide online sales. In Southern Nevada, you can find Deadwood Meadery products on draft at Esther’s Kitchen, HUDL Brewing, Millenium Fandom Bar and Red Dwarf and in bottles at Khoury’s, Top Shelf and Silver Stamp.
More: DeadwoodMeadery.com
