Commercial Description: A sweet traditional mead made with pure, raw tupelo honey from the swamps of northern Florida. Vanilla, persimmon, peach and nutmeg in the nose gives way to toasted oak, complex spice, soft fruit and caramelized pears on the palate. The alcohol and acidity balance the sweetness of this complicated mead.
Jan 30, 2008 Updated: Feb 4, 2008 Southern Heat is one of the best commercial Tupelo mead on the market. If you want to taste a well-made example of one the finest honeys in the world, check this one out.
Understanding this mead starts with understanding this honey. Sourcing high quality first flow, no heat, Tupelo Honey is tricky at best. And micro-climate induced regional variations of this amazing honey are numerous as you move from the swamps of Florida, northward to the Georgia Coast. From the White Tupelo, Nyssa Ogeche of the Apalachicola River Valley to the earlier blooming black Tupelo of the Georgia Coast, there are some universal characteristics and some wonderful localized variations.
Savannah Tupelo is dominated by candied pear flavors kissed with a touch of fresh clove. And as you swing south to the prolific groves of the Apalachicola , the honey takes on a more distinct touch of spearmint, gumdrops, and a subtle, peculiar, and faint green hew.
Tiny bubbles cling to the side of glass. A sudsy ring surrounds the meniscus. Chunky, disorganized, chaotic legs stumble down the glass wall. Pale Champagne in color, with a slight haze.
Well balanced while show-casing classic Tupelo flavor. Semi-sweet with enough residual sugars to express the delicate Tupelo flavor. Clovey, like spiced gum-drops. Layered with pear, vanilla, wrapped in a basket of line-dried fresh laundry. The nose is accentuated by a clean wood aroma that is more like clothing pins, popsicle sticks, and chop sticks than fancy French oak. Touched by wood, not defined by it. Tastes just like it smells, pears, dash of clove, and gum drops.
This mead has an eternal finish that goes on and on. Fruit and spice hangs around without a distracting sweetness or alcoholic heat.
This is a near perfect balance of drying out the mead enough to where it is not cloyingly sweet while leaving enough classic aroma and flavor to showcase this amazing honey. This is one of the planet’s rarest honeys placed in the hands of a master mead maker. If I could only drink one of Mike’s meads, if I could only drink one Tupelo mead, this would be it.
This has a beautiful nose, tupelo blossoms are beautiful in this, lightly floral and sweet. This is very distinct, almost earthy, but very light and smooth. I could not drink a lot of this but its captivating. This has a truly lingering finish, somewhat spicy, but well balanced and smooth.
Join us! RateBeer is made by beer enthusiasts for the craft beer community.
Your basic membership is free and allows you to read all beer ratings.
Click here to create your account... and give your opinion!
Find This Beer (Want/Have)