The inspiration for this mead came from a dark honey recipe of 1593. Three honey's were blended together; Blue Borage, Manuka and Honey Dew to produce a strongly flavoured must in January 2016. Fermentation continued strongly in an oak cask and was well settled and ageing 10 months later.

The mead in this bottle is totally unique and is a one off, never to be repeated bottling. It is the result of the 7.8 Kaikoura Earthquake which occurred at 12:02 am on the 14th of November 2016. At that time this mead had been ageing in an oak barrel when the earthquake stuck. This resulted in the stirring of the lees we have termed "earthquake batonnage". Lees stirring is a legitimate winemaking technique to enhance flavour and richness. The power of the 2 minute earthquake is contained in this mead and has become part of its flavour profile and production notes. This mead commemorates this historic event.