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Saturday, December 12, 2020

Burnt Honey Mead (Bochet) - Tasting Notes

This was my second attempt to make a mead.  With it I used a procedure to boil the honey to darken the color and create toasted sugar flavors - this is called a Burnt Honey Mead or Bochet.  I made two gallons of it which seems like a good amount of a beverage that tends to be consumed slowly.

I made the mead in August 2018, let it ferment and age until November 2019 before bottling, and then have been drinking one every couple months over this last year.  It finished with quite a bit of residual sweetness without any action from me and has been very stable in the bottle which is a victory for my sanitation process.

The long aging time has produced a nice mellow beverage.  Time to record some official tasting notes.

Tasting Notes:

  • Aroma:
    • Caramel and dark fruit are prominent along with a honey aroma.  Also has a bit of a boozy character
  • Appearance:
    • Dark gold and very clear.  Perfectly still
  • Flavor:
    • Sweet honey up front with a raisin and caramel flavor coming in next.  The finish has a pretty firm bitter bite to it which is kind of balanced by a bit of sweetness that lingers on the palate.  The fruity flavor really lingers for a while.  Get a bit of alcohol flavor on the finish
  • Mouthfeel:
    • Medium bodied and a bit sticky and sweet.  Noticeable warming alcohol warming presence.  Definitely a sipper
  • Overall:
    • Boldly flavor with a good amount of complexity.  Not easy to drink a lot of as it's quite sweet (half a bottle might be a good amount in one sitting) but enjoyable as a sipping drink on a cold night.  I like the flavors quite a bit - fruit and caramel are very nice - and it's neat that they're all derived from just browning honey.

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