Wild Blossom Nau-t-gal / Nau-t-guy

Brewed by Wild Blossom Meadery & Winery
Style: Mead
Chicago, Illinois USA

Date: 12/15/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cellar Party

pale yellow, viscous layers on the glass that develops legs, hot honey aroma that develops a sweetness as the alcohol fades, big sticky body, rich honey flavor, lots of hot alcohol enhances the sweetness and brings out a fruityness, finishes drier than expected,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.9/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4

Pours a still viscous straw golden with nice legs. Aroma of sweet clover honey with a touch of vanilla and oak. Body starts fairly full and sweet with some bourony oak and warmth toward a semi-sweet finish. Has a lot of butterscotch flavor as well. Could hide its abv a little better, but still a pretty nice, and unique mead.

Sample from sweet desire bottle. Clear light yellow. Big bourbon aroma with sweet, slight frutiness that balances very well with the bourbon. Very big honey with amazing bourbon balance, orange and other citus are very present as well. Medium sticky body. One of a kind and really impressive, this beer is all about a nice balance with very strong flavors. Not an easy thing to do.

Clear, apple juice colored body, still, nice legs. The nose is boozy, bourbon, honey and apple. The flavor is fairly sweet with apples, light oak and vanilla, light bourbon and a healthy dose of alcohol. Medium/full body is soft and still with a warm finish.

2006 vintage. Pours a deep gold with French Oak woodgrain hues, glimmering like it’s in sunlight even when indoors. A gentle swirl leads to slowly cascading legs that are as wide as they are lengthy, nearly coating the glass. The aroma is untamed but not overwhelming, wild dry honey astringency gliding outward. Bourbon and oak precede honey, grainy wood stifling the sinuses momentarily. Alcohol is unchecked. The honey is soft and comparatively mild due to such heavy alcoholic and moderate barrel presence. Perhaps this time of aging in the barrel was more excessive than what was needed to add to complexity and has in fact masked some delicacy of honey. Mild to moderate smoke wafts out and ensnares alcohol, holding on tight so that an array of pleasantries can unfold in a quiet parade. Light cinnamon and clove notes follow, then pecan, raw vanilla and more honey with floral backnotes. In-depth analysis proves rewarding as further warmth and a waning alcohol sting subside, honey trickling forth but soon growing to a river of complex floral and spiced nuances. The flavor is based on and equally dispersed around honey, mildly sweet and infused with soft spice. Alcohol warms after the first sip but becomes mere gradual infiltration of the throat and stomach, as soft as could be hoped for. Earthy atmospherics cloud the taste in shrewdly placed spice and floral notes, molasses and more smoke in a tug-of-war, battling from the sweet side to the astringent and acrid plain across the breadth of the flavor. Light acidity crushes any cloying notion and keeps this steady and balanced. Drinkability is superb, light body with minimal stickiness a pleasure. The finish is soft, mildly spicy and moderately tannic, honey and mellow smoke lingering briefly and fading into a soft floral honey and granular vanilla note.

Aeration is absolutely vital - maximum enjoyment and ease of exploration are fiercely accelerated with the passage of time and multiple swirls of the snifter. When the mead opens up, a bouquet of intricacies flood the air, floral and earthy barrel notes congregate in a pointed and ultimate definition, sensory alarms ring out. The last sip of this decadent yet accessible mead blows the first away; complexity feels like it’s just beginning to reveal itself in the most honest manner as a once full glass finally drains. A revisit is categorically required.

16% version. Pours a pale yellow color, similar to clarified butter. Aroma is amazing. This is a full frontal assault to the senses. Vanilla, oak, smoke, whiskey, I am even picking a faint whisper of toasted coconut, redolent of a macaroon. The flavor is much more delicate and elegant than I expected. The bourbon was there, but was a back note, allowing the honey to shine brightly. Great fruity finish. Absolutely wonderful.

Courtesy dsnowden. Cheeseman strikes again! Pours a light, syrupy gold color. Nice and subtle looking. The nose, however, was not subtle as the bourbon really is up in your face. The honey and sweet fruity aromas were masked and somewhat kept in the background. The flavor, however, was a totally different story. The bourbon took the back seat this time, and the wonderful honey and sweet citric flavors came forth. i got a little apple and almost some floralness to it. Incredibly drinkable and enjoyable mead. I can see why this gets high marks.

Courtesy dsnowden. Not a body bottle. Spherical bottom and a long skinny neck. Clear, pale gold. Still. Very nice nose- sweet florals, buttery vanilla oak, subtle spices, earthy honey. Flavor adds a biscuity nougat element, bourbon presence starts to show more as it breathes. Finish is dry with a bit of bourbon alcohol warmth. Full body, smooth, lightly viscous. Great mead.