Try this one:
Take nine pints of warm fountain water, and dissolve in it one pint of pure White- honey, by laving it therein, till it be disolved. Then boil it gently, skimming all the while, till all the scum be perfectly skimmed off; and after that boil it a little longer, peradventure a quarter of an hour. In all it will require two or three hours boiling, so that at least one third part may be consumed. About a quarter hour after you cease boiling, and take it from the fire, put to it a little spoonfull of cleansed and sliced ginger; and almost half as much of the thin yellow rind of Orange, when you are even ready to take it from the fire, so as the orange boil only one walm in it. Then pour it into a well-glased strong deep great Gally-pot, and let it stand so, till it be almost cold, that it be scarce luke-warm. Then put to it a little silver- spoonful of pure ale-yeast, and work it together with a ladle to make it ferment: as soon as it beginneth to do so, cover it close with a fit cover, and put a thick dubbled wollen cloth about it. Cast all things so that this may be done when you are going to bed. Next morning when you rise, you will find the barm all gathered in the middle; scum it clean off with a silver spoon and a feather, and bottle up the Liquor, stopping it very close. It will be ready to drink in two or three days; but it will keep well a month or two. It will be from the first very quick and pleasant.
This is an old family favorite <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="wink.gif" />
11 pints water
1 pint honey = 1 1/2 pounds
1 T peeled, sliced fresh ginger
1/2 T orange peel
1/2 t yeast
Dissolve the honey in the water in a large pot and bring it to a boil. Let it boil down to 2/3 the original volume (8 pints), skimming periodically. This will take about 2 1/2 to 3 hours; by the end it should be clear. About 15 minutes before it is done, add the ginger. At the end, add the orange peel, let it boil a minute or so, and remove from heat. The orange peel should be the yellow part only, not the white; a potatoe peeler works well to get off the peel. Let the mead cool to lukewarm, then add the yeast. The original recipie appears to use a top fermenting ale-yeast, but dried bread yeast works [ wine yeast still tastes better - Ragnar]. Cover and let sit 24- 36 hours. Bottle it, using sturdy bottles; the fermentation builds up considerable perssure. Refridgerate after three or four days. Beware of exploding bottle. The mead will be drinkable in a week, but better if you leave it longer.
This recipie is modified from the original by reducing the proportion of honey and lengthening the time of fermentation before bottling. Both changes are intended to reduce the incidence of broken bottles. Using 2 liter plastic soda bottles is unaesthetic, but they are safer than glass"
rk