Alcoholic drink from about 8% ABV to more than 20%. The defining characteristic of mead is that the majority of the drink's fermentable sugar is derived from honey. Pulque is the Mesoamerican fermented drink made from the "honey water" of maguey cacti. The drink distilled from pulque is tequila or mescal. Wine is a fermented beverage produced from grapes and sometimes other fruits. Wine involves a longer fermentation process than beer and a long aging process (months or years), resulting in an alcohol content of 9%–16% ABV. "Fruit wines" are made from fruits other than grapes, such as plums, cherries, or apples.
Mead mead may be known by the style represented; for instance, a mead made with cinnamon and apples may be referred to as either a cinnamon "cyser" or an apple metheglin. A mead that also contains spices (such as cloves, cinnamon or nutmeg), or herbs (such as meadowsweet, hops, or even lavender or chamomile), is called a "metheglin" . A mead that contains fruit (such as raspberry, blackberry or strawberry) is called a "melomel", which was also used as a means of food preservation, keeping summer produce for the winter. A mead that is fermented with grape juice is called a