Mead Review: Crafted Artisan Meadery Hardcore T-misu

Fresh off my last mead review from Crafted Artisan Meadery, I decided to go ahead and review another of their meads. This time it is one of their limited session meads called Hardcore T-misu which, as the name implies, is a tiramisu inspired mead. It comes in a 500 ml bottle at 6% ABV. Now let's get on with the review.

Appearance: I would call the T-misu water white to extra white in color, with brilliant clarity. The legs had a medium to long finish on the glass. As you can see, it is slightly carbonated.

Nose: I initially detected a sweetness from the honey that gave way to a coffee aroma accompanied by vanilla. There were pleasant underlying floral notes at the end. 

Palate: Once again, sweetness but this time, not so much from a honey stand point but from a brown sugar feel. There was that vanilla floating around in there with some buttery notes once again. Maybe some graham crackers on the backside of the flavor profile for me but they are there.

Finish: T-misu provided a medium to long, smooth bodied mouthfeel that provided a sweet warmth with a touch of bite at the end.

Conclusion: After seeing what Crafted did with their Planet of the Grapes and Cinnaman Bun meads, I wasn't hesitant to give the Hardcore T-misu a chance. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. Yes, this is a sweet mead. It is a bottled tiramisu! It is supposed to be sweet! And Crafted has nailed it to a T (misu). Sorry, I couldn't resist. Out of the three Crafted meads that I have tried so far, I think this one is my favorite. But, there are many more available on their site so the tasting must continue. So friend, if you get the chance, grab a bottle of this raise a glass with me!

Until next time, skål!

Mead Review: Cinnaman Bun

What’s up everyone? I’m back with another mead review for you. This time we are checking out Cinnaman Bun from Crafted Artisan Meadery in Magadore, Ohio. The name of this mead, Cinnaman Bun, is not just a play on words but actually describes the overall taste of this mead. This is a limited session mead from Crafted that comes in 500 ml bottles.

Appearance: This mead has a light yellow/golden color that allows the effervescence of the slight carbonation to sparkle in the glass. There is light tearing but that’s to be expected with a low alcohol drink.

Nose: The first thing I noticed was the strong cinnamon bun aroma wafting from the glass. Hints of cinnamon, vanilla and even frosting toyed with my emotions. Even though mead is honey-based, there was no sense to me of the honey as it took a backseat to the rest of the flavor profile.

Palate: Once again, the cinnamon and vanilla took to the fore as the taste built on the aroma foundation of the cinnamon bun. There is no taste of alcohol but instead just a tingling sweetness that is hard to put into words.

Conclusion: I was nervous about this bottle when I ordered it along with Crafted’s Planet of the Grapes (a PB&J mead I’ll review later). I wasn’t for sure what to expect but Crafted delivered just as the bottle promised. This is a liquid cinnamon bun and it’s not too strong at 6% Alc./Vol. that you can’t enjoy multiple glasses in a sitting. Overall, Crafted delivered a solid little session mead that you should definitely try if you get the chance!

That's all for now and as always, drink more mead, drink more bourbon and be sure to drink curious!

Mead Review: Dansk Mjød Viking Blod

Several months ago, while reading up on bourbon, I came across an article about mead and it piqued my interest. So I started reading as much as I could about mead. The more I read, the more I wanted to try it. This lead me to hitting up all the local liquor stores in search of this divine nectar. I found a few different brands from a few places to start. One of the first stops was at my favorite store, Pour Vous, where I found Viking Blod from Dansk Mjød. Now being new to mead, I wasn't sure what to expect but I had read some good things about Viking Blod so I was excited to try it. I was not prepared for what I experienced but needless to say, I am hooked on mead!!!!

Now that we got all that out of the way, let's get on with my review. First, let me say that I am not a professional reviewer, a sommelier, bartender or in anyway associated with the alcohol industry. I am just someone who enjoys a casual drink and I like what I like whether it is mead, bourbon, beer or some other intoxicating elixir. So with the disclaimer out of the way, here is my review (opinion) about Dansk Mjød's Viking Blod.

Viking Blod is a metheglin labeled as "Nordic honey wine with hibiscus and hops added" and claims to be "based on a recipe from about year 1700." It comes in at a strong 19% Alc./Vol. but does not drink like it. It's bottled in a stoneware looking bottle (it's probably glass though) which adds to the experience that it's from days of yore.

Appearance: In the glass, we have a clear, reddish tinted mead bordering on an orange color. This mead showed light to medium legs... I'm sorry, with wine I think it's called tearing. 

Nose: The initial nosing gave a moderate honey aroma but then additional scents of possibly stone-fruit along with a floral essence (from the hibiscus maybe). I couldn't detect the hops or at least it didn't have that hoppy aroma to me.

Palate: My initial thoughts on the palate were sweetness and strong notes of honey but then I started tasting some floral notes with a background of the stone-fruit once again. The mouthfeel was creamy with a very light tannin quality that ended in a medium finish. Still no discernible hops to my untrained palate.

Conclusion:  Viking Blod is a really nice mead and like I said earlier, it drinks nowhere near its 19% Alc./Vol. which could be a dangerous thing. It has the ability to sneak up on you if you aren't careful. There is the obvious sweetness from the honey but it isn't cloyingly sweet. The hibiscus helps level the flavor profile some and though there are hops in there somewhere, I'm not for sure if they came into play. I know this won't be every one's cup of tea... errr, mead, but I think you should definitely try it if you get the chance. Just my thoughts.

Well, that's it for this time. Make sure to check back later for more mead (and bourbon) reviews. Until then, nunc est bibendum (translated: now is the time to drink)!