White Winter Black Harbor

Brewed by White Winter Winery
Style: Mead
Iron River, Wisconsin USA

Date: 08/09/2008
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Great Taste

Appearance: clear purple, still,
Aroma: sweet aroma with rich blackberry, hint of alcohol,
Flavor: sweet fruity flavor, lots of alcohol, nice tartness to balance the sweetness,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.6/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: **4

Bottle… October ‘09 O-Town Throwdown!… First off, this is red-hot mead. Lots of ethanol in almost all facets - the aroma, the finish and my brain. At 21% ABV, I expected it to be boozy and wasn’t proven wrong. Now that that’s out of the way, I’ll focus on other aspects… there aren’t many. Black currants… and lots of ‘em. The aroma and flavor are both straight-up black currants and heat - less heat in the flavor than the nose. Also, like black currants, the flavor is tangy and tannic. Medium-bodied and astringent with a dry, chest-warming finish. Bottle courtesy of Skyview!

Bottle sampled at the Great Taste of the Midwest (8/9/08): Pours a viscous dark amber with nice sticky legs. Aroma of rich sweet caramel, brown sugar, and dark fruits. Body starts fairly full and caramely dark honey sweet with a touch of tart fruity balance. Pretty smooth and hides the alcohol fairly well. A very complex and enjoyable mead.

Wow. Talk about a unique and delicious drink... I’ve never tried anything like this before. Deep, dark blood red color, with a huge nose of blackcurrants and rich syrah, and a bit of a bloody note as well, but really, really rich and complex. Rich and peppery on the tongue, biting, stinging and hefty on the palate, but not overly hot. Rich, meaty, bloody, consumed in dark, sticky, overipe plums, blackcurrants and red grapes. This is what the blood of a rare steak should taste like.

Damn, I hate when I don’t copy before hitting "Add My Rating!" and losing all my verbiage. Condensed version... Ruby garnet color (still). Nice tall thin legs. Smells like Mogan David from a distance. Smells of black currants, other fruit, some tawny port scents and a hint of higher alcohols. Some zinfandel spiciness. Flavors of raspberries, Door County cherries and candi raisins. Somewhat mouthcoating, but enough acidity to keep it light. Oak flavors throughout. A nice nightcap, or after-dinner sip.

A 500ml ceramic bottle was shared at JK’s Spring Gathering in St Paul, MN. Pours a bright Pinot Noir red with no head or any lacing. The viscosity of alcohol tears was enormous. Aroma picked up very sweet black currants, creme tatar, mild pepper, and some blackberry. Tannins? There is a touch, but the honey enrichment hides it. Taste is sweet with a buttery honey finish. I don’t think I could find a tawny port this sweet. Definately I want to try this after at least three years of age.

Thanks to Kan for opening this! Poured translucent blood red with some very fine legs.. sexy! The aroma picked up sweet, heavy current sweetness with lesser honey.. tart fruit skins amplified by substantial alcohol gave the final impression. The flavor began where the nose left off.. tart black currents driven mightily by the booze factor carried all the way through with honey providing more substance and mouthfeel than flavor.. became syrupy on the back with a lot of heat. Heavier on the palate and it finished with some alcohol burn.. overly hot, and I think a few years in the cellar might mellow it out.

Thanks to Skyview, our mead man. Blood red color. Wicked aroma of currants that pours into the flavor. The honey is there, but acts as an almost unidentifiable sweetener to the currant. Not bad at all.