Apis Jadwiga

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artmc

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 22, 2004
33
0
0
Okay, I have had a bottle of this for the last few months and was waiting for a decent excuse to try it. So at the Christmas party my friends and I hold, it became the late center of attention. It was served very chilled :)

First off it was this wonderful darkish honey color. Poured almost like a thick cough syrup, very honey-esque. The aroma was strong honey with maybe a slight floral bit (might have been my imagination, though). Swirling it in the glass proved that it didn't have 'legs', more like an entire chorus line high kicking. Very impressive.

The taste was very sweet and what surprised me the most was the lack of alcohol 'bite' that I seem to notice in any beverage. I could taste the alcohol, but just barely, which is something I was happy about. Normally just about any level of alcohol leaves a strong 'medical' alcohol taste that I find distracting. Even though this is 15%+ ABV, it was mild and very smooth. Very little after taste, again maybe something slightly floral (much like the smell, it may have been my imagination).

Overall taste was almost like drinking liquid sugar, or thinned honey. Since this uses a 3:1 (or 4:1) ratio of honey to water, not really surprising. Very, very good overall, and I will try to pick up some additional bottles as I am able to.

Several of my friends had commented that this was what they expected Mead to taste like. Five months or so ago, we had tried several different Meads (3 from Rabbitsfoot Meadery and 3 from some other Meaderies). They were surprised at the wine like consistency of them. The Jadwiga seemed to be a lot more popular, though the Rabbitsfoot Pear and Sweet Meads were well liked.

Final rating: Very, very tasty. Great dessert wine, best served with something not too sweet. Maybe Pound Cake or over waffles ;D. Could be used as a dessert in and of it's self.


One additional comment, this is a 6 year old aged bottle. I am going to try and find one of the 25 year old ones if I can.


* art *
 
I posted the message below in another thread tonight but found your message and had to post a response.

Here in Michigan you can buy Jadwiga... Actually I have two sources in the southeastern part of Michigan.

Jadwiga was a mead barrel aged for 25 years. I bought two bottles of it about 3 or 4 years ago. They were in a wine shop under several layers of thick dust. I bought what they had left for about $35.00 a bottle. After that I couldn't find it anywhere. Then, this past summer my buddy who owns a wine shop told me he could get it. I had him get a couple of bottles but now Jadwiga is only aged for about 6 years.

How does the 25 year old Jadwiga compare to the 6 year old Jadwiga? They don't. The 25 year old mead was one of a kind. The 6 year mead is still good but nothing like the 25 year old mead. And considering it's still sold at $35.00 a bottle, I'm not willing to buy out all the stock I find in stores anymore...

Jon.
 
I opened one of my 3 remaining bottles of Jadwiga yesterday, and was once again struck by how well it expresses the buckwheat honey they use for this particular mead. I love the mahogany color, and the nose is exquisite. I can only drink about a glass of it, since its so sweet, but I think this would be great with a dish of fresh fruit, or perhaps chocolate.

All in all, probably the best buckwheat mead I've had, and my favorite Polish mead to date (though the Jaros meads, which I tasted at the Mead Festival this year will give them a run for their money).

At some point I'm going to take up the Jaros' family's invitation to visit Poland, if I can find decent airfare...a tour of the Polish meaderies would be an experience to remember, I think.
 
Jon Foster said:
I posted the message below in another thread tonight but found your message and had to post a response.

Here in Michigan you can buy Jadwiga... Actually I have two sources in the southeastern part of Michigan.

Jadwiga was a mead barrel aged for 25 years. I bought two bottles of it about 3 or 4 years ago. They were in a wine shop under several layers of thick dust. I bought what they had left for about $35.00 a bottle. After that I couldn't find it anywhere. Then, this past summer my buddy who owns a wine shop told me he could get it. I had him get a couple of bottles but now Jadwiga is only aged for about 6 years.

How does the 25 year old Jadwiga compare to the 6 year old Jadwiga? They don't. The 25 year old mead was one of a kind. The 6 year mead is still good but nothing like the 25 year old mead. And considering it's still sold at $35.00 a bottle, I'm not willing to buy out all the stock I find in stores anymore...

Jon.


Sadly here in PA it's almost impossible to get. I spent several weeks working with the LCB (Liquor Control Board) to do a special order. I went so far as to supply the distributor and a contact name there. After not hearing from them for like 3 months I finally get a message saying basically: Too bad for you. :(


Since it is really against the law to ship alcohol to PA from outside the state. I would not likely be able to get any sent here.



* art *
 
Depending on your personal concern for breaking the state law, you might try Hi Time Wine, out of CA, to get the Apis Jadwiga. They sell it. They also ship out of state. It is not legal to get stuff shipped into WA, but I still was able to get stuff from them.

http://www.hitimewine.net/

Cheers,
Bill
 
Jon Foster said:
If you take an out of state vacation and find it in a store can you buy it and take it home?

Jon.


As far as I am aware, I can bring back a moderate amount. Nothing like a case or three. ;)


* art *