Kuhnhenn - Dry Apricot Sack

Kuhnhenn Brewing Co makes beers, wines, and meads out of Warren Michigan.  Dry Apricot Sack is a dry, still mead released in 375mL bottles in the fall of 2016.  It was for sale at their taproom only and I want to say it was  either $18 or $28.

Dry refers to the sweetness of the mead, there are 3 categories of sweetness: dry, semi-sweet, and sweet.  A dry mead doesn't have to be bone dry just a like a sweet doesn't have to be cloyingly sweet, there's can be some blurring of the lines sometimes.  This mead finished fairly dry and definitely falls into the dry sweetness category, but there is a bit of sweetness underneath.

It is also a sack, which refers to the strength of the mead, i.e. alcohol content.  The 3 categories for strength is hydromel, standard, and sack,  Sack being on the higher end, usually considered 14% or greater.  This Dry Apricot Sack is 15% ABV.

Kuhnhenn's description: Apricot is a stone fruit that is known for it's subtle flavor and aroma.  Both are captured nicely in this crisp and delectable mead.  The finish is long, dry, earthy, and warm.

My thoughts:  This is an interesting mead.  The nose is fruity and floral.  There's a nice bouquet of fresh stone fruit, apples, and honey sweetness.  Very reminiscent of a cyser.  The color is a decisively clear, pale yellow.  Like a watered down apple juice (in a good way).  A very nice looking mead, and well filtered (it says on the label Sulfites used),  The taste is dry with a little sweetness, unripe apricots, and a bit our granny smith apple skin tartness. It may be the dryness that adds to that tartness, but there's also an interesting secondary interplay of a slight sweetness complimenting with a slightly sweet earthiness of a King Oyster mushroom.  It's a unique flavor profile that at first is a bit jarring but as you sip it became more enjoyable.  There's also some fusal flavors and heat, which might be expected with a dryer, 15% mead.

Overall I enjoyed this mead, although in about a 6 oz quantity slowly sipped over the course of about 30 minutes.  It's definitely a unique mead and not a style of mead that's as prevalent in mead these days.  It's a welcome change of pace from sweet melomels and an interesting use of apricot.