MEAD IN THE MIDDLE

When Curtis Sims walked into Governor’s Cigar & Pipe in 2016, arms laden with quarts of honey collected from his beehives, his only aim was to share the sweet bounty and kick back with a smoke. As customers billowed in and out,

Sims struck a serendipitous conversation with fellow veteran and apiarist Cameron

Myers. The duo bonded over their overseas experiences in the military and their overflowing stockpile of honey. “You ever thought about making mead?” asked

Myers. The fortuitous question prompted a business partnership, an award-winning product, and the first commercial meadery in Louisiana.

Confident that his math degree and heavy background in physics, chemistry, and biology would yield a decent product,

Sims accepted the challenge. “How tough can it be?” he recalls thinking. How tough can it be? “He said it the other day,” chimes in Myers to answer my question.

“It’s easy do and even easier to mess up.”

Sims’ first batch was in 2016. He brought it to Governor’s, which had become a homebase, with the intention of having folks try it and provide feedback. Initially, the cigar crowd celebrated his batch, but Sims remained steadfast about perfecting his meticulous recipe. Around that same time, Myers found a mead competition he kept pushing Sims to enter. After a month of “haranguing,” Sims finally relented, sending two different meads to the Texas Mead Cup (the second largest mead contest in the United States). Though he pulled two second place awards, Sims deemed it a fluke, so to be absolutely sure what they were producing was top tier, they entered the largest mead competition in the nation, the Mazer Cup. They sent about eight meads to a competition that had over five hundred entries and ended up placing third for one of Sims’ experimental brews--Poppin’ Smoke, an unreleased brew where the honey is smoked before fermentation. The win along with a widely positive reception at that year’s Celtic Festival clenched their certainty in the product, especially for Sims who recalls finally thinking, “Okay, we might be onto something here.”

article by VANELIS RIVERA and photography by KELLY MOORE CLARK

After a soft open in 2019, Two Warriors Meadery officially opened in February 2020, eager and ready to stir the Viking blood--real or imagined--of North Louisiana residents. Their logo not only honors the ancient lineage of mead, often deemed the oldest alcoholic beverage on Earth, but also their military service. The crossed pistol and saber nods to military insignia used to designate a soldier’s job--the pistol honors Myers’ service as a military police officer, while the saber honors Sims’ service as cavalry and helicopter pilot. Naturally, the symbol for Thor’s hammer (called Mjölnir) is used in the foreground, while on the background a round wooden shield venerates the age-old Scandinavian spirit of warriors, feasting halls, and celebration, seemingly inspiring their motto: “Louisiana honey, Louisiana fruits, and Louisiana veterans.”

A few years ago mead was associated with the niche culture of Renaissance fairs, but the growing buzz surrounding shows like the History Channel’s Vikings and HBO’s Game of Thrones has resulted in the triumphant return of the oldworld elixir. At a commercial level, there are a plethora of superb meads in the market, but what sets Two Warriors apart is their focus on historical recipes, mainly inspired by their time stationed in Europe. “I am a student of history, so I enjoy going back and looking back at these historical recipes and how they would have done them,” says Sims. His discoveries have been as interesting as they have been strange. One recipe from the 1600s instructed, “add water to the recipe until an egg the size of a shilling floats,” forcing Sims to research the size of a shilling at that time, which turns out is the overall dimension of a medium-sized egg. Deconstructing these timeworn recipes are integral to Sims’ creative process, though at times the recipes present more barriers than clear paths. “One of the recipes called for starting with rainwater that had been aged in a barrel for two years, and I went no.” The same recipe asked for an addition of two handfuls of oak leaves to be brought to a boil. “I’m thinking, okay, I don’t think the FDA would like me going out and picking up a handful of oak leaves out of my yard and throwing them in there,” says Sims. He was able to figure out that the purpose of the oak leaves was to provide tannins, which

can most notably be recognized as the bitterness in red wine. In place of oak leaves, he decided the more acceptable solution was using black tea.

The Warriors are using honey from Jonesboro and sourcing fruits from local vendors. Their Bayou Blues Berry is made with whole blueberries from Brown Family Farms, located south of West Monroe. The pair believe in using as little chemicals as possible, which is why their meads appear cloudy, a common characteristic of traditional meads. The only chemical Sims adds is potassium sorbate, which he affectionately calls “yeast birth control.” This addition keeps the yeast, especially the wild yeast in the air, from reproducing in the batch, which Sims discovered can make a covered bottle explode. The longer they created batches, the quicker they realized how subjective an experience the honey wine tasting process can be. When they released Louisiana Nectar, a semisweet mead with fruity and floral notes, customers claimed to taste hints of apple, pear, and apricot. Curious, they talked to the beekeeper providing the honey and she revealed that all those trees were planted in her orchard. “You really can taste what those bees have been eating,” says Sims. On occasion, Sims will taste the honey before diving into a recipe, creating offshoots of existing recipes. Sims paired

the recipe for Louisiana Nectar with honey that came from a cotton field, resulting in a much “drier, cleaner, and crisper taste,” says Sims.

Currently, Two Warriors Meadery offers seven meads, distinct in flavor profile and ingredients. Their top seller is Oden’s Love, Myers’ favorite. “It is unique. I’ve never had another mead that tastes like that.” Norse mythology fans will note that while the name seems to refer to the Norse god of wisdom, poetry, and death (Odin), the misspell is intentional and refers to the maiden name of an employee’s wife. Their most sought-after mead is so labor intensive that it is only produced twice a year. Inspired by a French recipe from the 12th century, Bobby’s Bochet has hints of toffee, caramel, and toasted marshmallow. “It kind of tastes like you’re drinking a smore,” says Myers. The word bochet is French for “burnt,” which is what Sims has to do to the honey. It takes twelve hours to cook the honey alone. The first time Sims tested his honey burning skills was at home. “I put five quarts of honey in a five gallon pot and put about a quart of it on the kitchen stove. That was in 2016 and I’m still finding honey in places. I don’t know that my wife has forgiven me yet,” he says, admitting that he didn’t consider honey’s expansive quality. Though it’s their most expensive

bottle, it’s also the perfect apéritif. Not wanting to stop at lucky number seven, Sims has a few meads in progress such as Light of Valhalla, an oak aged mead that requires six months before it is ready. The oak aging process gives the mead an alcohol bite with an oaky bourbon nose, light vanilla note on the forefront, and finishes with the fruity and floral notes of the honey. “It’s very complex,” says Myers.

MORE THAN JUST A DRINK, Two Warriors meads can be used in food recipes. Sims has used Oden’s Love alongside spices to marinate pork chops, while his son favors using Louisiana Nectar to marinate chicken breasts. Recently, Myers had two friends from North Carolina stop by the meadery to pick up a few bottles they plan to use in an upcoming cookbook. Another way to put your mead into action is incorporating it into cocktails. Oden’s Love is a great substitute for whiskey in a classic old fashioned. Their Valkyries Flight, an historical recreation of a traditional sweet mead, makes an excellent addition to a classic margarita or Moscow mule (Viking mule could be a more appropriate moniker in this case).

If you look closely at their bottles, you’ll notice a small blue label designating their business as veteran owned. This salient mark is a result of Governor John Bel Edwards’ Veterans First Business Initiative initiated last year, created to honor the sacrifice Louisiana veterans have made by recognizing businesses owned by a veteran, activeduty or reserve military, or Gold Star spouse. Sims and Myers credit Friday Ellis, owner of Governor’s and newly elected mayor of Monroe, with being instrumental in the development of their business from its conception. It was Ellis who called the Governor encouraging him to visit the meadery, consequently introducing them to the veterans initiative.

As proud Army veterans with a love of community and history, Sims and Myers are often championing what is close to their hearts: “We believe that our money should stay locally, so that is why we buy local and a portion of every sale goes to local veteran charities.” Clearly, Two Warriors meads are more than just revived ancient draughts helping us to relive our wildest Norse dreams. They stand as tribute to real local warriors. These men and women who return from exhaustive oversea experiences now have a mead hall where they can share their stories all while enjoying a drink fit for a warrior.

Two Warriors Meadery is located at 95 McClendon Ave, West Monroe, LA 71291. Follow them on Facebook or Instagram to find out about seasonal meads and the debut of Louisiana’s first Viking Festival.

Louisiana Tech Prepares for Fall

Focusing On Health, Safety and Academic Goals

AT LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITY, we’re getting ready for the Fall 2020 quarter and our return to campus. In Fall 2020, we will continue to focus on two objectives for our University – keeping our campus community healthy and safe, and ensuring our students meet their academic goals. Our new protocols for community health and safety include a focus on: • Wearing masks • Maintaining appropriate physical distance • Washing hands regularly • Using proper sneeze and cough practices • Helping maintain clean academic and office areas and • Monitoring for symptoms of COVID-19.

We’re modifying campus spaces to ensure our students, faculty, staff, and visitors are safe.

Academic leaders in each college have defined safe ingress and egress methods for each classroom and safe occupancy levels for each classroom, lab, and studio.

You’ll notice enhanced cleaning and sanitizing of academic and shared office spaces, conducted according to recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control.

We have placed plexiglass shields in the Lambright Sports and Intramural Center, the cashier’s office, and other areas where our staff interact with students and members of the public on a regular basis.

Throughout campus, you’ll also see signage and visual cues to note room occupancy limits, to remind community members about physical distancing, and to encourage good hygiene practices.

In the Fall 2020 quarter, we have the goal of offering face-to-face classes where possible according to guidelines and restrictions issued by federal, state, and local authorities and health professionals.

Course delivery will take a variety of modes, including face to face, online, and hybrid. Each of these modes depends on occupancy requirements in classrooms as well as the needs of each class and academic program. There may be times when an inperson class will have to pivot online, and we know from our work this spring that our Tech family is ready to face that challenge.

Classrooms will be modified to accommodate for delivery methods as needed, and training will be provided for faculty to ensure quality courses are delivered.

Face masks or coverings will be worn in public – both indoors and outdoors. They must be worn in classrooms and building hallways, as well as in shared office space.

Students, faculty, and staff are being asked to clean shared spaces before and after use, and cleaning supplies will be available in those spaces for this purpose. This cleaning is in addition to the enhanced cleaning and sanitizing measures our essential workers engage in.

Occupancy in residence halls will maintain appropriate levels for physical distancing. In addition, a special section of housing will be used if students who live on campus need to be quarantined.

We’ll ask each of our campus community members to monitor their health for symptoms of COVID-19 like cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever or chills, muscle pain, sore throat, or a new loss of taste or smell.

This fall, we plan to continue to grow our Culture of Caring at Louisiana Tech. Visit latech.edu/return-to-campus to learn more.

A Bit Of Southern Elegance

1401 Park Avenue

ARE YOU READY TO EXPERIENCE A BIT OF SOUTHERN elegance in your life? This magnificent home has stood the test of time! This home was built in 1930 by Walter Kellogg and has undergone extensive renovations and additions throughout the years. It features four bedrooms, three and a half baths, a detached exercise room, a detached apartment as well as game room with a full bath and kitchenette, four fireplaces, tall ceilings, beautiful wood and slate flooring, a four-car garage and much more.

This home is waiting for that special buyer who wants a prime corner lot in the center of town. Located on the corner of Myrtle Street and Park Avenue in the heart of suburban Monroe, this elegant home is able to access the quiet neighborhood behind the property for leisurely outdoor activities such as biking, walking, and visiting with neighbors.

This stately Southern home features some amazing outside spaces in which to entertain family and friends as well. Those include: a 243 square foot covered front porch, a 186 square foot one car porte cochere, a 84 square foot covered side porch, a 198 square foot outdoor living area with a wood burning fireplace. Also, there is a 717 square foot covered patio area attaching the two two-car garages to the main dwelling. Other features include a 603 square foot heated and cooled exercise room located above a two-car garage, a 572 square foot apartment or game room featuring a full bathroom.

This house also offers a 297 square foot storage area that is located on the lower level of one of the two-car garages, an upper level balcony offering 703 square feet attaching the upper level game room and the upper level exercise room to the main dwelling, slate patios offering fountains and extensive landscaping by Jeff Carbo, a sprinkler system and brick fencing. A new roof was installed in 2014. Additionally, all air conditioning units have been installed by current owners.

Located in the heart of a scenic Monroe neighborhood, this grand home is surrounded by beautifully crafted homes, large oak trees throughout the neighborhood, friendly neighbors and incredible landscaping within the property. It would be a great place to call home and make memories with your family for years to come.

Please call Kathy VanVeckhoven at (318) 537- 3701 or your Realtor® for more information or to set up an appointment to view this spectacular property.

1401 Park Avenue Monroe, Louisiana, 71201

Burgers, Brunch and More

Miro’s Located Along the Ouachita River

LOCATED ON THE BANKS OF THE OUACHITA RIVER IN the heart of downtown Monroe, the patio at Miro’s has always been a favorite and is even more so now in the time of social distancing and open air dining. The restaurant features a multi-level patio seating area, as well as spacious dining room options, so there is plenty of room for customers to safely dine. “We are adhering to current ATC and Fire Marshall guidelines so our employees and customers are staying safe,” said Roy Arthur, owner and operator. “We have added even more plants and decor to our outdoor seating area, adding even more appeal to the patio.”

If you are sitting outside on the patio or at the bar, you will have great view of the Endom Bridge over the river. And that is where some of the menu inspiration comes from, with items like the River Burger, Morning Barge, Conductor and Caboose burgers. You can even get a $1 Fireball shot when the train comes by!

In recent months, Roy and his crew have added to the menu. For appetizers, there is now fried eggplant, homemade fried cheese and hot spinach and artichoke dip, in addition to the already popular totchos, hummus, pickle fries and shrimp skewers. They have also added boiled shrimp and crab legs to the menu.

Burgers are made from 8-ounces of fresh Certified Angus Beef and come with homemade fries or mac and cheese. In addition to classic hamburger options, there are also unique flavors like the Hawaiian that includes bacon, pepper jack cheese, grilled pineapple and jalapeño jam. Each burger is stamped with their signature fleur de lis, giving it an extra special touch. Other sandwich selections include grilled chicken, pimento cheese, turkey avocado and club. And you don’t have to worry about traveling to New Orleans to get an authentic muffuletta sandwich. Miro’s has one with 9-inch round Leidenheimer bread, piled high with salami, ham, provolone cheese and in-house olive mix.

The menu continues with wings and tenders with five different sauces to choose from. Pizzas are also popular, from muffaletta to Margherita. PoBoys include fried and grilled shrimp, catfish, meatball, chicken parmesan and more. On Sundays, Miro’s has one of the best brunch menus in town! And what is brunch without a little hair of the dog? You can enjoy Bloody Marys for $6 and bottomless mimosas for $10, with eight different flavors like pineapple, pear, honeysuckle and more.

Miro’s is open Tuesday through Saturday for lunch and dinner and on Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Stop by Miro’s for lunch, dinner or Sunday brunch, while taking in beautiful scenery while enjoying great food!

Board Certified Tax Attorney

The Client Always Comes First

IGREW UP IN MONROE, GRADUATED FROM NEVILLE HIGH School and Northeast Louisiana University (now ULM), and then received a Juris Doctor degree from Tulane University School of Law.

For over 40 years, I have practiced law in the areas of estate planning, general business and corporate law, taxation and employee benefits. Some of those areas include: • Estate planning, wills, living wills, powers of attorney, trusts and successions; • Business law, including corporations, LLCs and partnerships; • Purchases and sales of businesses, and mergers and acquisitions; • Federal and State tax planning and controversies; • Employee benefit plan (ERISA) matters, including plan design and corrections, qualified domestic relations orders (QDROs), 401(k) plans and ESOPs; and • General business legal advice and consulting.

Everyone should have a basic, simple will, if for no purpose other than naming a representative to handle your estate, and providing that your representative is “independent.” It is very easy to avoid timeconsuming, costly Court fees or litigation costs. A basic, simple will can be prepared quickly and for a very low cost. Of course, more extensive estate planning may be needed, as each person’s situation is different, but a basic will is a good starting point.

Another often-overlooked situation involves the passing away of a spouse, relative or other family member, where no succession has been opened. A person’s succession serves to transfer assets to his or her heirs, and is necessary to convey good title to real estate. In Louisiana, “probate” need not be a difficult process if handled correctly.

Providing prompt, efficient and affordable legal services with the utmost integrity is of paramount importance, and the client always comes first. Many transactions and other legal matters can be accomplished in a timely, cost-effective manner, and often “simple is better”. No one should be deterred from seeking legal advice based on the perception that the expense will be too great.

I am a Board Certified Tax Attorney under the Rules and Regulations of the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization, a Certified Public Accountant (Inactive) in Louisiana, and I have extensive experience in tax matters and employee benefit plan issues. I have served as Chairman of the Tax Section of the Louisiana Bar Association, and as Chairman of the Tax Law Advisory Commission of the Louisiana Board of Legal Specialization.

Giving back to the community is an important part of my life, and I have served on several local non-profit boards for many years.

Call for a free telephone consultation, or to schedule an in-person meeting, where options and costs for your needs can be discussed.

Family Restaurant On the Bayou

A Fresh Take On Southern Comfort Food

THIS FAMILY OWNED AND there to lend a hand with whatever is needed. operated restaurant is becoming a From the first mouthwatering poboy, made staple in local cuisine. The Hegwood with their homemade roast and gravy, to the family has created the perfect atmosphere last freshly battered seafood of the night, of family and food. From the moment you The Hegwoods are all hands on deck, which walk in the door you will feel like you’re includes Renee’s grandkids, the real stars of back home visiting family. Courtney and the show. her mom Renee have found a way to make Bayou Grill offers a good variety of every customer feel like they are old family southern favorites like hand-battered fried friends while serving up some delicious mushrooms and pickles, crawfish kickers Louisiana favorites. Located across from and oysters (when available). If you’re really Bayou DeSiard, this hometown restaurant craving some down-home Louisiana cooking sets the scene from the parking lot all the way be sure to try one of their seafood plates. to the kitchen. Renee will be the first to tell you that if you’re

A family business from the start, Bayou a new-comer you should try it all! While each Grill is growing into one of Monroe’s favorite member of the family has their own favorite local spots. Jim and Renee Hegwood are the dish, that dish may change daily. To get a proud owners but the whole family pitches little taste of all the flavors cooking check in with whatever tasks need to be done. out the Bayou Platter. Loaded down with Courtney and Renee run the day to day catfish, frog legs, stuffed crab, and fried operations; while Jim, Jimbo, and Charlie are shrimp, this taster platter is an absolute must have especially for a family table. Renee and Courtney were sure to think of the kids too; with the kids menu offering a good selection for a great price The Hegwood family has really made this fun spot for the whole family!

Fish platters, fried appetizers, burgers, and wings may get you in the door, but the family dynamic will keep you coming back! Stop by and check out one of these southern battered and fried dishes or call ahead to order to take home for a family night in. Bayou Grill even offers catering services to really make your big occasions and events a hit!

Bayou Grill 5120 Desiard St. Monroe, Louisiana (318) 343-0055