Cherry Twist
I'm willing to try nearly any combination of homebrewed beverage as long as I've grown, picked, or harvested it myself. When it came to mead, I didn't have quite enough honey to make a full 5-gallon batch. I still wanted to give it a go, so when summer rolled around in 2018 I set about making a 1-gallon mini-batch. Coincidentally, the cherries were ripening right around the same time. With only a pound from our small tree, my options were limited... until I remembered I could soak them in my still-aging mead!
Cherry Twist was born, named after the classic Crystal Method track from the Vegas album. If you're noticing a trend of musically-themed wines, there's a reason for that. I bottled this mead in 375ml bottles to make it look like I had a lot, but in reality I only got ten bottles. Next time I come upon a load of cherries I might go all-in.
The photo at right was taken not long after I had bottled the mead. One of my beehives swarmed to the top of a 60' tree on the edge of the yard. Rather than let them leave, I chainsawed the tree down and recovered my swarm. I don't do anything lightly. The twister on the label reflects that sentiment perfectly.
In 2022 I started a second batch, this time for a full five gallons after a bumper crop of honey from the previous year and fresh tart cherries. I bottled it in 2024 to swing-tops, in keeping with my trend of 'mead goes into easier to open vessels than wine.' The second round topped out at around 11.8% ABV and is just as delicious as the first.
