#14 Cara Cara Orange Wine

Racked off gross lees and onto the juice, some zest, and pulp of one cara cara orange and two small blood oranges. The color before the racking was a faintly ruddy orange. With the addition of the blood oranges, it looks like a pale tequila sunset. I added a new slice of ginger, too. It tastes predictably orange-y and alcohol-y.

SG 1.005

#9 Guajillo Mead

Racked off sediment. I had used sparkalloid to clear this one, since it just wouldn't do it on its own. The downside of this is the fluffy stuff it leaves in the mead. So the mead was beautifully clear before I racked it, now the sparkalloid is floating in it again. It's okay, I'll rack it again in a couple months, I think it'll be ready to bottle then.

The color is a fine, very very pale gold. Paler than straw. It's sweet and has a delicate, floral honey scent and taste. Very nice. It's mild, but not at all bland. Good stuff.

SG 1.015

#14 Cara Cara Orange Wine

I drew out a sample and got an SG reading. I took a tiny taste and it was, of course, very alcoholic and very raw. A hint of something good, though. I gave the lees a little stir to keep fermentation going. The color is devoid of any red or pink. It's an extremely pale beige-y yellow, just touched with orange.

SG 1.006

#4 Sassafras Metheglyn

Wow. Just... wow.

Racked off the sage and onto a single star anise. This is the best one yet. The level of sassafras is perfect, with the hint of sage I was trying for. The honey taste is light, but it's there. There is no alcohol burn. It's lightly sweet. The color is a gorgeous sassafras brown-tinged red. So damn good.

#8 Roasted Metheglyn

Racked off medium toast oak and vanilla bean and onto Hungarian heavy toast. Color is a beautiful red-brown. Aroma is warm, roasty goodness and alcohol. Alcohol burn is heavy in the taste, but mellower than last time I sampled. There is a hint of the honey, a touch of vanilla, and then the warm chicory/carob/root-y goodness. The oak gave it a nifty tang, I think. The aftertaste is honey and warmth.

#13 Tart Cherry Vanilla Melomel

Added one tablespoon of mahleb (sour cherry pits) and swirled the jug. I tried one of the pits to see what the taste was and I was surprised at how much I liked it. It has that rich cherry flavor, without the sweet. Good stuff.

#7 Blueberry Lavender Melomel

Oh my word. This mead is fucking awesome. I racked it today. A tiny bit of the rosemary and some of the blueberry solids ended up making their way through the tube, but not enough to concern me. The mead has cleared to a beautiful red-purple color. The smell is dominated by lavender and general sweetness, a touch of vanilla and blueberry. The taste has an immediate burst of sweet (though not cloyingly so, thankfully) and blueberry. The honey is present as well. There is a touch of the rosemary that sort of gives a crispness and the vanilla makes it fuller. The lavender adds some nice floral tones to it and I think I stopped just short of overdoing it. It's amazingly good and I can't wait to see how it is after a year. This is the best one I've tried so far.

SG 1.02

#5 New Moon Pomegranate Mead

So I was bad and racked this even though it's not the new moon. I have a month of training coming up for my job, which includes some 12+ hour days, so I had to grab time to deal with mead when I had it.

It's totally clear and a lovely blush color. It smells of alcohol (though not horrendously so) and tartness. The taste is much the same. I've read that pomegranate takes a long time to age, so that's fine. It isn't awful, just not ready, obviously.

SG 1.00