Mead Diaries, Part Two

As my second box of mead arrives and I have some explaining to do. It seems my history of the mead ordering was a bit fuzzy. The acutal events in a short summary (it might make more senses, so here is goes): The first hunt, I failed to find polish mead, but I find the hall of mead with a large selection so I ordered a variety--because I needed the mead! Weeks go by, nothing happens, I come across a site with the jidwiga mead, order it instantly. Weeks go by, I don't hear anything, frustrated, I find a site with a different kind of Polish mead made by the same people. I (apperently) buy 8 bottles out of frustration. Which brings me to his shipment from Shoppers Vineyard.com. Great news, I placed this order last thursday and it arrives wednesday morning.

Rundown of the Contents:

8 Bottles of Kasztelanski Polish Mead



Since I have a stock of 8 freakin' bottles, I crack one open.



Gone is the traditional wine bottle, replaced with a short, fat one that's similar to brandy. Sitting in the glass, you can see that the Kasztelanski is darker in color than the Chauchen.



The first inhale encounters a deeply alcoholic aroma, there's not a sweet honey smell. It's not entirely plesant. I kept thinking, I wonder if the polish purify their water. The honey fragrence is faint and raw, like that of a honeycomb. Imagine a bee-hive open that was just outside your window so you go outside and throw rocks at it until it falls on the the ground and cracks open. Then you take a big wiff, inhaling the dirt and hive. That's what you have....

...If your wondering if that's a complement or not, so am I.



The first sip caught me off guard. It's sweeter than the Chauchen, the mead is very... alcoholic,. It tastes like a brandy or something more than mead. It lacks the flavor of honey. It's probably there. The Kasztelanski is most likely made entirely of natural honey or something like that. Keep refering to the image of the behive on the ground. It's different than any mead I've ever had.

At first I was put off, but after the first glass it really started to grow on me. It's honey/nectar/sweetness really starts coming out after a bit. Make no mistakes, this is a rich, full mead. It's not wimpy. I'll come to the conclusion that if you're trying to get a MAN's MAN to start drinking mead, this might be a good start. It'll be like he's drinking a smooth, tasty hard alcohol, not some sissy dessert wine. Still... it's enjoyable, though not something I can imagine craving...