Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 5 | Overall - 6
Pounder via Local 604. Mojito glass at home.
Quick sizzle, very magenta, concentrated grapefruit juice, very light haze.
Slick, lots of unfermented honey, lime acidity cuts it some.
Sweet n sour grape, lime peel, sugary essence, bubblegum, no muscadine funk. Thick. Slight tartness saves from being a mess. Would be amazing dry.
Tolerable flavors, nothing great.
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6
Pounder from 604 while there for a store tasting. Mojito glass at home.
Hazy, matte, straw gold.
Sweet and floral ginger soda nose.
Tart, waxy, semi-sweet, ginger ale soda, sharp lemonade, a little soap, no head.
Lightly crispy, decent acid, some tartness, gummy sorbate.
Very flavorful for a session but too sweet.
Drake (22934) reviewed Ancestral Mead from Stardust Cellars 1 year ago
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
12 ounce bottle from Botany & Barrel AVL Downtown, 12/2/23. Doesn't look great. Murky amber. No head. Strong legs. Aroma of honey, pepper, hay, apple skins. Taste is honey, pepper, raisin, lemon. Mild booze.
SaltyGrog (4618) reviewed Lavender from Stardust Cellars 1 year ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Clear 12oz bottle from 604 AVL. Lo-ball at home after a few weeks in the fridge to settle. Clear-ish, some protein haze, light to medium light gold. Intentionally still but a tiny bit of movement & forced air on the pour. Second pour is cloudy. Smell is lovely lemon & honey, spice, oxidation, plastic, oily lavender. Acidic, sharp & sweet. Floral lavender & tart apple upfront, orange-lemony middle, lingering waxy earth bitterness, peanut-y oxidation on the tail. Slight rose on the full stop. Thin with some slight waxy buildup. Great acid. Of course it's still. Stronger than the 14% list. I had lunch & feel fuzzy just 6 ounces & 5 minutes in. Okay homebrew with honest ingredients & good intentions.
SaltyGrog (4618) reviewed Cherry Blood from Stardust Cellars 1 year ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Clear 12oz bottle from 604 for like $8. Mojito glass at home. Opens with hardly a whimper. No carb but some forced activity on the pour. Peachy iced tea color with slight haze once the second pour stirs things up. Earthy, softly vinous nose, mellow wax with a little peanut-y oxidation. Taste is tangy & bittersweet, leaning off-dry to brut sour. Juicy sour cherry/dark berry fruit upfront, lingering pith, lemon, light wax & oxidation on middle to tail with a final breath of boozy warmth. Not getting the advertised vanilla. Very thin, juicy, intentionally still, nice acid, strong heat. Would be lovely if bubbly. A little rough & simple but honest. A decent enough nightcap.
SaltyGrog (4618) reviewed Strawbery Fields from Stardust Cellars 3 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle pour @TreeRock. Pale strawberry blonde, ever slightly hazy. Scent is harsh menthol, white sugar & earth. Taste is much softer. Gentle but obvious berry plus honey sweetness(not obviously strawberry). Middle is earth & some fermentation off-flavor & light oxidation. Mint only comes in during the aftertaste as a cooling wintergreen along with some gentle acid. So not as complex as their show mead, but cleaner. This one happened to be carbonated & had very tight but sharp bubbles. Overall thin. This brand never feels too boozy. Good.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
12oz bottle from 604. Goblet @home. Very slightly hazed, carbonated, pale gold. Not much junk left at the bottom. Smells of Sprite, lilacs & oxidized peanuts. Aspirin, root beer, sweet ginger ale, white table grapes, Lysol, oxidized finish. Sparkly, lightly acidic, very easy to guzzle. Fun, interesting, but so obviously oxidized. Prefer the OG to this.
SaltyGrog (4618) reviewed Ancestral Mead from Stardust Cellars 3 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8.5
Clear, very nearly full 12oz bottle from Botanist. Appalachian hasn't heard of it. Lots of new mead places popping up. Hope some are at least tolerable. Baby Duvel tulip @home. Cloudy, lemon honey. Looks like there are some bubbles, but even it this glass, it dies almost immediately. I smell peanuts first. Disappointed, I try again. Peanuts & an earthy flowery blend, something prickly, plastic-y wax. Taste upfront is an unexpected sharp pineapple/lemon/cran-cherry, sweet lactic action. Veggie, peanut & very light wax middle. Finish is lingering lemon-cran-lactic. If you've had Nought or Mirror Mirror from Enlightmentment Meads in NY, this tastes very similar, though fruitier & not as neat. Smooth, runny & barely viscous, great acid makes the abv almost negligible. Lots of fun if you can ignore the oxidation. Really want to give this a higher score.