Lurgashall Malmesbury Whisky / Tower of London Mead

Brewed by Lurgashall Mead
Style: Mead
Lurgashall, England

Bottle: Pours a clear light golden yellow. Aroma, honey, some spices, whisky. Flavor, light sweetness, hint of honey, some heat, whisky notes on the back end.

Bottled. Poured clear, bright golden with no head and some solid legs. The aroma had sweeter honey and lavender upfront with warm, non-descript whisky spiciness toward the back.. interesting, but well-presented integration of the whisky. The flavor had sweeter honey and floral at the core with darker honey and just a light impression from the whiskey toward the back.. finished grainier and warm. Heavier-bodied and syrupy on the palate with a sweeter complexion.. a bit too sweet and strong without the necessary elements to balance it.. albeit warm and satisfying overall.

I enjoyed this a great deal, but it is hard to find these days. I am a scotch and bourbon drinker, and I am learning to enjoy mead, so this was quite pleasing to have all thos flavors intermingled. The sweetness of the honey , is much more overpowering than the scotch, which adds a touch of smokiness and a hint of peppery wood. Warming and slightly viscous, but quite enjoyable.

750 ml bottle. Pours a clear medium gold with no head. This is a still mead. I did not care for the aroma at all. The sweetness of the honey combined with the earthiness of the scotch and the boozey alcohol aromas were dischordant and unpleasant to my nose and were a distraction. I had to struggle to separate the vapors in my nose from my tastebuds. Thankfully, the flavor was much more enjoyable. The earthiness of the scotch whiskey was much more subtle as was the sweetness of the honey. Warming alcohol presence at the swallow. I’m glad I stuck with this one despite not liking the aroma.

I’m not crazy about Scotch - actually, I don’t like the stuff - so I had some trepidations over trying this mead. It’s more pale bodied than other meads that I’ve had and has very thin legs. The aroma has a light honey sweetness, a quiet woodiness, and, alas, a hint of plastic. This is very warm in the mouth with a peppery alcohol bite. The flavor is mainly a dry honey sweetness with a chunk of wood and an alcohol warmth. A slight flavoring of Scotch comes in right near the finish. All in all, a quietly flavorful, warming mead.

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[Sampled @ Sunset Grill, bottle as well] Very nice aroma, sweet with a touch of whisky and wine-like sweetness. Flavors are a very interesting blend of sweetness with wood and scotch. Finishes quite warm, with plenty of nice residual sweetness.

I enjoyed this much more than I expected. The whisky makes this thin and almost watery. Whisky flavor compliments rather than overwhelms the honey. Not very sweet for a sweet mead, but not quite dry.

Tower of London label. Thanks to Badgerben for completing my flight for the evening. Rich golden color with a dark almost earthy tone from the scotch cutting through the honey nose. A nice bit of oak in the taste, but it doesn’t quite hide the rather large amount of alcohol.