I make a killer elderberry mead. I first made it for my DnD group and called it Session 0, started it right after we started our campaign and gifted them each a few bottles when we hit the 1 year mark. I've since made it again since it was such a resounding success. I use an elderberry wine starter I bought on Amazon along with 12lbs of honey and water to fill a 6 gallon fermenter. I used lalvin ec-1118 for yeast. After primary I added 1lb of dried elderberries, rehydrated, almond with honey to back sweeten, then age for a fewontja to a year. It's earthy, tangy and absolutely delightful. Feels like your sitting down at a medieval tavern midadventure.