austinpowers (2827), New York, New York, USA May 30, 2008 This one’s the best of the meads brewed by Pasieka. It’s slightly sweeter and thicker than the others, and has a maturity from aging that’s lovely. That said, anything from Apis is probably better. JB175 (1319), Holland, Pennsylvania, USA Mar 13, 2008 Updated: Apr 17, 2008Pours to a nice looking burnt orange color with nice legs. Aroma of hot heather honey - some alcohol, spices, and wood in there. Flavor has a wonderful spicy, thick honey thing going on with some alcohol heat, a heavier barrel aged taste and feel, some ripe fruit, and maple wood/syrup. Big, thick mouthfeel that is wonderful - great heated honey thickness that slowly rolls up the tongue. A wonderful example of a big polish traditional mead! tronraner (1391), (Louis-, Sevier-, Knox-)ville, Tennessee, USA Dec 22, 2006 Awesome looking ceramic bottle, split with NachlamSie. Pours a nice dark rusty red. A good swirl leaves very well defined legs that fall slowly. The nose is extremely rich: lots of oak and tannins, some alcohol, and a very floral honey. The flavor is extremely robust and well-melded. A sweet, slightly acidic note starts it off, and some delicate floral elements emerge. Just enough oak starts show itself, and then a huge burst of raisins comes as it reaches the finish. Some acidity comes out then, which helps balance all that sweetness. All of these elements are extremely well blended. It comes out far on the sweet side (very port-like), so it is hard to consume very much of it. But as a dessert or a complement to a meal, this would be outstanding. NachlamSie (1320), Tennessee, USA Dec 22, 2006 Ceramic bottle split with Tronraner. Very good presentation here. I like the rope and wax seal, etc. The mead flows out easily and is much darker than I was expecting. It’s a rich mahogany hue and still. The rich aroma is easily discerned with little effort. Drawing the snifter closer to the nose reveals molasses, oak, prunes, raisins. The mouth is thinner than the intense sweetness and fullness of the aroma would lead me to believe, but it still coats the palate well. This reminds me of a fine port, but a notch less sweet. There are plenty of robust, dark notes of rum, dried fruits, and hints of oak. The alcohol, though it burned my nostrils ever so slightly, is nowhere to be found in the taste. Floral notes dance atop the wall of complex, sticky sweet notes. Very well executed. I enjoyed the moderate serving I had very well, though it might become overbearing after two full glasses or more.
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