Apis Póltorak Jadwiga

Brewed by Spółdzielnia Pszczelarska Apis
Style: Mead
Lublin, Poland

Thanks to Guerde for sharing this rare mead. Amber in color and still. Aroma has honey and some alcohol. Incredible, intense flavor with sweet honey, prune juice, figs, sugar, and just a little alcohol, which is also present in the palate. It reminds me of an ice wine.

Small sampler @ Kallion Poirotti, Helsinki. Deep amber color, no carbonation. Explosive aroma with plenty of alcohol mixed in with honey. Smooth, warming taste dominated by honey, sweet lingering finish. A very interesting mead that would make a great Christmas gift or after dinner treat.

Shared this with my hubby, his 500th. Pours dark amber with no head. Upon smelling and first taste SA Utopias pops into my mind. Very heavy mouth feel and coats the tounge. Sweet honey, plum and heavy alcohol. Very smooth and warming.

Probably should have saved this for a special rating, but I was jonesing to try it. Pours a dark brown sugar honey color, devoid of any head. Rolling around the glass shows off amazing legs. Aroma is thick dark honey, raspberry and raisin. Taste is smooth honey, not cloying at all with a little heat in the aftertaste. So smooth for so much alcohol. Stunningly smooth warmth and worth all of the hype.

No head. Pours amber in color. Aroma of alcohol and dark fruits. Taste reminds me of SA Utopias. Thick on the tongue and leaves a coating. I can taste honey, alcohol, dark fruit like plums and raisins. I figured this would be a good one for the 500th.

(cool looking wicker bottle from gunhaver, thanks Geiger!) This had to be my 400th rating. Pours dark amber and literally coats the entire glass upon swirling. The aroma is just incredible with smells of caramel, raspberries, a lot of sweet honey, and every so often I smelled a scent of chocolate cake. The taste was nothing short of spectacular, with raisin, honey, caramel, and raspberry all mixing together to create one of the best tasting amalgamations that has ever graced my tastebuds. I would love to give the palate a ten on this if I could, as the whole liquid coats the mouth and leaves an amazingly long sweet raspberry finish. This mead is just really thick and viscous. Another amazing thing about the Jadwiga is that the 16% abv is never even noticed in both smell or taste, which is quite an impressive feat by the brewer to pull that off. I liked this drink so much I was hesitant to even finish the rest, but smelled it for an extra ten more minutes before consuming. This could be a dessert on its own, and is definitely in a whole other league when compared to other meads that I’ve sampled.

Sampled at OSLO’s and Guerde’s tasting. Special thanks to Guerde for breaking this out before I had to leave the party

I mentioned that Guerde had this in the fridge to milkmandan and that he was going to break this out, and he practically sprinted to the kitchen in anticipation. Absolutely divine aroma here. I could literally smell this beer and be 90% satisfied. Of course after going through that exercise, I needed to sip on it. It was absolutely phenominal! Honey, grape, dark fruits, and light raspberry flavors. I’m not too familiar with meads in general, but I really don’t see how anything could beat this. Breathtaking.

Small sample at OSLO and Guerde’s tasting on Friday, 5-23-08. Thanks so much to Guerde for sharing this masterpiece. Pours copper with thick, impressive legs, Looks like an XO brandy. Honey-like, floral bouquet. Yeasty, wonderful, aroma. Very complex flavors of plum, orange, honey, and golden raisin. It’s reminiscent of a great dessert wine or liqueur. This is so good! Very thick, rich, and sticky with a good bite in the throat. I was informed that this mead would show me what constitutes a 5 for mead palate, and I was informed correctly. It’s just great across the board. This is better than any beer that I’ve ever had. Some beverages have the ability to be fundamentally better than others (as I know well as a whiskey fan; I’ve had at least 10 whiskeys better than any beer I’ve ever tasted). Perhaps mead has a higher upside than beer. That’s something I never thought I’d say before I tried Apis Póltorak Jadwiga. This came very close to getting my first 5. I am holding out some hope that I will be able to rate something even more highly, but I’m not holding my breath. This is a steal of a deal at just $30 a bottle. Buy it if you can find it!