A couple of days ago,
Kent reminded us that yesterday was Mead Day.
I'm glad that he did! I used the occasion as an excuse to open a bottle of
Happy Happy Mead that I made sometime during the summer in 1998. Unfortunately, I only have four bottles left, and I didn't leave them in the carboy quite long enough; they have a good amount of sediment.
None the less, it was a tasty quaff. The spice notes have mellowed, leaving a subtly complex, slightly citrusy, semi-dry wine that leaves a slight impression of honey at the back of the throat. If I recall (I unfortunately took no notes), I used a local wildflower honey, and substituted 3 extra pounds of honey for the 5 pounds of white sugar.
The mead has developed a nice deep, scotchlike color. Unfortunately, I had to take this photo on a dark background because the cork shattered when I opened the bottle, leaving lots of unsavory bits floating in the drink. I drank it anyway, but it didn't make for great photography!
