Garagiste - Black Widow

Garagiste Meadery's Black Widow (batch 2) is a Black Currant, Red Currant, Blackberry, Raspberry, and Tart Cherry melomel that's aged on bourbon staves with Vanilla beans.    

This mead is everything I look for in a melomel.  It has big bold flavors, Both the black and red currants add a nice tannic quality.  The blackberries, cherries and raspberries all lend a fruity tartness to everything, which is beautifully complimented by the sweetness of a little vanilla and some woods-y and boozy notes from the barrel.  Black Widow took home a Bronze Medal at the Texas Mead Cup in summer 2016, and rightfully so.  This is a beautiful mead.  It's so complex without being overwhelming.  Everything has it's place and the layers work well together.