Traditional Welsh Mead vs Bochet: What’s the Difference?
Traditional Welsh mead or Bochet? Both are meads, but they offer different starting points when you’re choosing a bottle. Our Welsh Traditional Mead is medium-dry and aged in oak. Our Bochet range uses caramelised honey and comes in three distinct combinations: Apple & Cinnamon, Walnut & Liquorice, and White Chocolate & Pecan.
Here’s a straightforward comparison to help you find your way around our Meads collection.
What is Bochet?
Bochet is a style of mead made with honey that is caramelised before fermentation. For our Bochet range, the honey is simmered for several hours, darkening in colour as it caramelises, then fermented with the ingredients that distinguish each style.
That caramelised-honey step is the key difference to understand. Bochet is not simply another name for traditional mead, and the three bottles in our range are not interchangeable flavours. Each has its own combination of ingredients and its own alcohol strength.
Traditional Welsh mead and Bochet compared
| Mead | What distinguishes it? | ABV | Bottle sizes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Welsh Traditional Mead | Patiently fermented and aged in oak, with a medium-dry style. | 10.7% | 70cl |
| Bochet 1: Apple & Cinnamon | Caramelised honey with pressed apple juice from a local orchard and Sri Lankan cinnamon. | 15.7% | 20cl and 70cl |
| Bochet 2: Walnut & Liquorice | Caramelised honey with French walnuts and black liquorice. | 12.2% | 20cl and 70cl |
| Bochet 3: White Chocolate & Pecan | Caramelised honey with white chocolate and toasted pecan nuts. | 12.9% | 20cl and 70cl |
ABV means alcohol by volume. Each Bochet style has the same stated ABV in its 20cl and 70cl bottles. All three are higher in alcohol than our 10.7% ABV Welsh Traditional Mead, so check the strength as well as the flavour when choosing.
Meet the three Bochet styles
Bochet 1: Apple & Cinnamon
This combination brings together Welsh honey, our own pressed apple juice from a local orchard and Sri Lankan cinnamon. If apple and cinnamon are flavours you already enjoy, this is a natural place to start exploring the range. At 15.7% ABV, it is the highest-strength Bochet of these three styles.
Choose Apple & Cinnamon Bochet in 20cl or the 70cl Apple & Cinnamon bottle.
Bochet 2: Walnut & Liquorice
French walnuts and black liquorice distinguish Bochet 2. If those are ingredients you seek out, choose this combination rather than the fruit-and-spice or white-chocolate options. It is 12.2% ABV in both bottle sizes.
Explore Walnut & Liquorice Bochet in 20cl or choose the 70cl Walnut & Liquorice bottle.
Bochet 3: White Chocolate & Pecan
Bochet 3 incorporates Welsh honey, white chocolate and toasted pecan nuts. Choose this one if the white-chocolate-and-pecan combination appeals to you. Both sizes are 12.9% ABV.
Discover White Chocolate & Pecan Bochet in 20cl or the 70cl White Chocolate & Pecan bottle.
Which mead should you choose?
For a medium-dry, oak-aged option, start with our Welsh Traditional Mead, 70cl, 10.7% ABV. We recommend serving it lightly chilled, opening it and allowing it to breathe before serving. It can accompany rich chocolate puddings.
To explore caramelised-honey mead, choose a Bochet by the ingredient combination that appeals most: apple and cinnamon, walnut and liquorice, or white chocolate and pecan. A 20cl bottle is the smaller option for trying a style; choose 70cl if you want a larger bottle of your chosen combination. Bottle size does not change its stated alcohol strength.
Check individual product details and labels for ingredients and allergen information before buying. Walnut & Liquorice and White Chocolate & Pecan contain named nut ingredients. Our Welsh Traditional Mead listing also notes that traces of sulphites may be present.
Ready to choose? Browse the full Meads collection to compare traditional Welsh mead with the Bochet range.