The origins of Krampus are not clear cut. There are some who believe Krampus is the son of Hel, Norse god of the underworld and accompanies St Nicholas on the evening of 5th December (Krampusnacht; Krampus Night). Whilst St Nic rewards nice children by leaving presents, Krampus beats those who are naughty and the really bad children are taken to hell or eaten.
However, there seems to be little evidence beyond the early 16th Century when a folklore figure appeared as a marriage of the mythical creatures Perchten and Straggele. In the 17th Century, the Christian faith paired Krampus with St Nicholas as it was unseemly for a Saint to deliver punishments.
Krampus’ and Mr Mead
Modern culture has adopted Krampus as an ‘alternative’ to Santa and he even appears at some Christmas markets in Salzburg! In the UK, the Whitby Krampus Run, has been running since 2013, raising much needed funds for St Catherine’s Hospice and the Whitby Wildlife Sanctuary. The picture is one of the Krampus’ who visited Beltane at Thornborough in 2019. They were raising funds and awareness for the run.
In 2014 we took the risk of spicing up our Loki’s Mead for Yule 2014 and it was met with much praise. From customer feedback to produce a ‘lighter’ festive mead we approached Krampus’ Spiced Mead with the knowledge that most mulled wines contain some orange zest. This left us the choice of either Freya or Aegir. With Krampus being male in 2015 we ‘ran’ with Aegir (Ran is Aegir’s wife and the Krampus run) and the rest is history.
Krampus’ Spiced has stayed as a festive addition to our line-up, however he does work well all year round for those summer nights by the firepit either in the garden or in a field. Serve Krampus’ Spiced warm, he does not like being cold. From warming a glass in the microwave, warming in a bain-marie or keeping him warm in a soup terrine on the bar (this has been proven to increase revenue on food sales!), his blend of spices will be filling the room with that festive aroma. So for that naughty tipple look no further than Krampus’ Spiced Mead, but, be warned, you will need food around to satiate those hunger pangs the spices create!
So why not click on the link and enter the code BADSANTA10 to get your 10% discount off a bottle or 3 of Krampus’ Spiced Mead. Tantalise your taste buds or gift to friends who love a good Festive tipple and put them on to the splendour that is mead.