I just don’t get meads, what beers do you know that are near 20%? From a bottle at Vintage Estates, such a nice place; 6 - 2oz samples of mead for $15, tax included. Smells a little like medicine. Clear very pale look. Quite interesting flavor; unique in many ways when compared to other meads. rather mild and enjoyable to say the least. Friendly finish and generally not bad overall for a flat mead.

Strong honey, vanilla, and cinnaom aroma, prefectly blended. Clear yellow color and thin. Nondescript slight chemical edge and apple tartness. Alcohol is noticeable.

Draught at Sunset Grille, 12/20/2005. Clear straw to pale gold, almost a chardonnay-like color, but with a hint more orange tones. Fully diminishing cluster of bubbles and flimsy legs left behind. Aroma of dry, powdery cinnamon and old, plasticy vanilla extract (though I see the whole ingredients are used). Little in the way of honey emanating in the nose, almost a straw-like dryness. Flavor is papery cinnamon sticks, in flavor and in texture. Vanilla is flavorful, yet tremendously drying. Watery, straw-steeped-in-water sort of effect (must be the alfalfa) that is flimsy, not complex at all (I get barely any mead from this, just touches of light yeast dryness, vanilla and cinnamon). The only sweetness is a cheap, alcopop like candy/sugar. Stale and watery, though not sharp and fuselic for the 12 abv. Large, overly expansive bubbles further harry the palate and break up the flavors. In my mind, an analogy to beer makes this a spice/herb/vegetable beer that concentrates too much on the spices, letting slide the beer aspect. And even the spicing does not seem authentic and particularly well-done. Love to try it from the bottle though, looks like it is much better in that form (not surprisingly).