Hive North’s The Mix

Bottoms Up

By Anna Faller | Feb. 5, 2022

Imagine Christine King’s surprise when, on a family trip to Savannah, Georgia, she discovered a mead made in her own backyard. “We couldn’t believe it was from northern Michigan,” she says. “I thought, people need to know about this product!” That revelation, in part, prompted Cheboygan’s own Hive North. Open since Labor Day 2020, this family-owned cider and mead collective is a haven for all things Mitten-made, from handicrafts to local honey to, of course, mead. The real hive-mind lives at the bar. Featuring such local cider-slingers as Shorts Brewing and Farmhaus Cider Co. — not to mention the scratch-made weekend cocktails — Hive North’s 14 seasonal taps boast pours to satisfy every palette. But their buzziest bev is simply The Mix. “Everyone knows what ‘The Mix’ is,” says King. Serendipitously concocted by a guest, the mix is a 50/50 split of St. Ambrose Cellars X.R. Cyser mead and Blake’s Hard Cider Co.’s semi-sweet Caramel Apple. The resultant maple-golden pour packs just enough residual sugar to complement the stone-fruit finish. How’s that for something to buzz about? $6.50 for a 12-oz pour. Find Hive North at 100 S. Main Street, Cheboygan. (231) 445-7084. www.cheboyganhivenorth.com