Misbeehavin' - Pineapple & Chile

 

Pineapple & Chile is, as you can guess, a mead made with pineapples and chiles by Misbeehavin' Meads, specifically Chiles de Arbol.  Pineapple & Chile was released at their meadery in 750mL bottles for $28 around late July 2016.  It is 12.5% ABV.
This is an interestingly beautiful mead that combines fruit and spices.  Do you call it a capsimel? a melomel?  Who knows, and who cares.  When a mead has such beautifully melded flavors categorization is irrelevant.

The color on this mead is a nearly crystal yellow.  There's a very subtle layer of sediment on the bottom that if the bottle is agitated will create a very subtle haze.  Not a distracting feature by any means.

The aroma is very tropical.  I immediately get thoughts of vacations in Mexico.  There's a wonderful crisp pineapple smell, like a tropical drink.  But at the end there's a bit of heat tingle in the nose, and you can get a little bit of spicy fresh vegetable pepper.
Easiest way to describe the taste is honey drenched pineapples up front with some spicy on the back end.  At first you taste this juicy ripe pineapple that's been drizzled in honey.  Then after you swallow the heat creeps up.  I'm a big fan of spicy heat, so I thought the heat on this mead was very enjoyable.  However I will warn if you're not a fan of spicy things this might be a bit over powering.  Another way to describe Pineapple & Chile is that it's almost reminiscent of a grilled pineapple minus the smoke.  Like a tropical dessert.

Overall I loved this mead.  It is probably the best representation of a capsimel I've tasted to this point.  The balance of sweetness and heat are in perfect harmony and the depth of this mead is really impressive.  It's everything I look for in a mead.  If I had to be overly critical of it I would say the presented format is not ideal.  A 750mL of a spicy capsimel, even with the fruit, is a bit much.  A 375mL format, probably shared between a friend or two, is an ideal serving size for this mead.  However $28 for 750mL of a mead this good is a steal of a deal any way you package it.