Comparing honey shine (45% ABV) to the mead it was made from

[@DointheMost]

I forgot to put social media links on screen, but they’re in the description!

[@DointheMost]

@@anthonyfields420 why not?

[@DointheMost]

@@anthonyfields420 this batch of mead in particular was very not good. So in this instance, it was a little bit of a make lemonade out of lemons situation. Waste not want not!

[@lunarwhirlwind]

Honey shine would be a great way not to waste a 'less than perfect' mead experiment since honey is expensive. It is also really scary tasty.

[@lunarwhirlwind]

And yes... Added honey... Is the answer

[@Gnomenutz]

I have had a liquor fairy make a 50/50 of honey shine and vodka to make a killer gin. I do find that the honey shine is much smother than the vodka. The best use for mead that was made from the cheapest Wal-Mart honey on the shelf.

[@Dogstickfetch]

HA, I applaud the *unknown maker of unscrupulous origin* that ||redacted|| that mead into the final product

[@DointheMost]

They’re so generous to share!

[@chaseyoungblood1494]

Would be super interesting to age this in an ex-honey barrel.... there are quite a few bourbons on the market now being finished in honey barrels.

[@DrDesumThePanda]

i'd honestly love to see it aged in most any barrel tbh, i think there's a lot of interesting potential results. this but aged in used rum barrels sounds like it could be excellent

[@andyn3532]

I tend to distil with a sweeter mead rather than a dry and it seems to hold onto more of the aromatics and flavour. Stripping run first then a nice slow low distillation to make the cuts for about two litres from two gallon after cutting with spring water to bring the proof down to about 40/45 % vol

[@CrazyIvan865]

The description of the mead itself... man. I know I'll never be able to afford that honey. But it sounds like something I might appreciate.

[@Vykk_Draygo]

Not just grappa, I do that with whiskey too. Letting the alcohol evaporate makes some aroma more readily detectable. Most distilled spirits are going to be pretty neutral when unaged, so that isn't surprising. Cool video!

[@DointheMost]

First time I ever heard of that trick! Pretty cool.

[@bonsang1073]

distilled hydromel is called Midus or hydromel balm in Enrope.

[@racerothery2716]

Nice video! I actually just met up with the liquor fairy who ran 2 of my 5 gal batch of mead mixed into a red corn bourbon mash. 1 gal in the mash and 1 gal in the thumper with some mash and the corn mash was already fermented with Honey in place of sugar. The result is still brand new so I’m not judging myself too harshly but it came off the still smelling like honey from the gods and ended up turning to a almost tequila like smell which is now fading slowly with #3 white oak in it but I kept 32 oz of white honey lighting to compare it with. The mess will be done soon

[@kjdevault]

Sounds awesome. Amazing what a little time does isn’t it?

[@michaelprice8207]

A good experiment, but not exactly conclusive. It depends on the cuts, weather it was distilled in a pot still vs. column still, shell vs. worm condenser, and weather the mead was not fermented to dry it might contribute more esters.

[@danielanthony1054]

if you heat up your mead super slowly from room temp to distilling temp you're supposed to get more estrification

[@michaelprice8207]

@@danielanthony1054 In theory yes. It's not quite that simple though. Go too slow and the esters evaporate. Plus when you are boiling a liquid it takes a higher temperature if there is more water in the solution. So essentially the more water evaporates the lower the temperature needs to be. Plus the distillate coming off the still is never really pure anything. There are little heads and tails in the whole thing. So whatever flavors are coming off are hard to judge if it's going to be any good after proofing down and/or ageing. So many times people may think the no flavor parts are the best and it ends up tasting like vodka.

[@danielanthony1054]

​@@michaelprice8207 that's why i like a pot still over a reflux any day, the smearing is what gives you just the right flavors from the heads and tails without being actually those bad flavors from the heads and tails.

[@seanirons4910]

Do you know of a process that shows a wooden barrel on top of a pan with an opening on top of the barrel for a metal bowl to add water and ice for distillation

[@codyman630]

That's dope af. My brother in law is getting 5 gallons distilled here soon. I think mixing it with a sweeter batch of mead would balance it out, and fortify it too. 🍯🤔

[@DointheMost]

Nice!

[@javierchirinos28]

There is a distillery in Freeport TX that has a honey shine for sale aged on amborana

[@DointheMost]

I definitely need to check that out!

[@javierchirinos28]

Yeah, Texas Rivers distillery, Traci helped them out

[@Vykk_Draygo]

@@javierchirinos28 Been too long since I've been in the Freeport / Surf Side area. I'll make sure to check them out next time I'm down there. Sounds awesome!

[@jasonbennett499]

From my experience, when you make several jars throughout the run, 2 of 10 jars had a prominent honey flavor and sweetness. The rest of the run was like vodka. The two jars were phenomenal though. If I remember right it was towards the tail end of the hearts run @195ish degrees.

[@-_-hi8964]

Hand trick also used for whisky.

[@colingregory7464]

Have a look at Still It's comparison of his aged and white Honey Shine at seven months

[@TigerPat_9180]

Really Enjoyed Your Video , Thanks ! 🐯🤠

[@DointheMost]

Awesome, thank you!

[@thatjonguy103]

Now I wonder how a fortified mead from this would taste. Both with the original and other batches.

[@DointheMost]

I’ve been wondering the same thing!

[@blakeeason3363]

I guess I’m not the only one here thinking this, but it would be a great way to increase the ABV of your mead instead of using a different spirit. Great video!

[@DointheMost]

Definitely!

[@46bobh]

Wonder how this would be in place of gin in a Bee’s Knees? Though the lemon might overpower it a bit

[@theoptimisticmetalhead7787]

The peeps from Whiskey Tribe taught me to do that hand thing with any given whiskey. And by "taught me" I mean I watched a video where they talked about that, hahaha.

[@asseenontv247]

I wonder if the honey shine be good for mixing.

[@DointheMost]

In cocktails? It is!

[@jonfortner3919]

Check out Barr Hill Gin. It's made from honey, and the honey character really shines

[@riukrobu]

Yes.

[@DointheMost]

Yes.

[@TheMrTbo]

How did you distill it? By freezing the water off, or by steaming the alcohol into droplets? :)

[@danielanthony1054]

if it was frozen water it would be a really dark mead color, cause the coloring doesn't freeze. this is definitely heat distillation. not that i would know of course

[@eddavanleemputten9232]

This only makes me wish distilling was legal where I live. As is, the laws are so restrictive people come from other countries to learn the craft of distilling (the courses offered are really good) and then take that knowledge to their home country in order to apply it. Crazy. The only two legal ways to distill spirits in my country are: 1) use a distilling apparatus with a capacity of less than one litre. 2) obtain a license, which is very expensive and only possible for someone who is self-employed. I’ve never found still setups of one litre or smaller. So that option is down the drain. I’m not self-employed and don’t have the cash to throw at paying for a license, so that’s a dud too. No distilling for me. That being said, I do have a contact who can legally distill (and who does). Said contact has offered to have me come over fora visit and play around a bit, observe, and help. As soon as that happens I’ll be schlepping a few gallons of mead over the border to find out what kind of result I get out of them! 😊

[@DointheMost]

Where there’s a will, there’s a way! Always nice to have those contacts that can hook you up with a unique experience!

[@honeybeebobbyhoward6326]

Cool bro helpful

[@l0tus4life]

"THiS PERSON" lol those words are doing a lot of heavy lifting 😂

[@DointheMost]

😎

[@workhardplayhard801]

Throw few pounds of honey in the thump along with some ginger 🫚 and rose blossoms and high proof 👌. Oh yeah 😎

[@l0tus4life]

I know a person in Oklahoma that makes rice wine and turns it into shine.

[@FaewoodMead]

Very FANCY 🤌

[@roberthollis7535]

Try mixing the two together.

[@vDRACv]

Be good for making vanilla extract

[@MysticDonBlair]

I moved overseas where you can distill. You can share your distillation process, by showing footage from overseas. 😉👍

[@danielanthony1054]

*in mexico*

[@JonFTC]

mix the honey shine back into your mead. :) fortify that mead.

[@handy-capoutdoors4063]

Mix the 2

[@kb2vca]

But we do not know the skill level of the distiller. Might this have been a stripping run? Might they have simply ignored cuts? What was the total volume of the "wash" they distilled? What was the volume of the distillate? Was this a pot still or a reflux still? Might the flavor from the honey have been far more pronounced if they had collected the distillate in a different jar every 100 ml and tasted each jar before deciding which to include and which not to? Sorry, but for this mead maker and theoretical distiller, not enough information - and more: might the flavor have been improved if you had bench tested different ABVs (proofs). Forty -five might be excellent, but 40 p may be better and 35 may be far better... So many drinkers of scotch add water to their whisky (or even ice) to reduce the proof and highlight more the flavor that no longer has to compete with the ethanol...

[@Vykk_Draygo]

It's a neutral spirit made from a relatively neutral wash. This isn't a how-to video; there is no need to drill down on the most minute aspects.🤷‍♂

[@kb2vca]

@@Vykk_Draygo True- but if the CLAIM is that there is really no honey flavor coming through then that might be completely overturned if the distiller had collected the distillate in 100 ml quantities and tasted each jar and then decided which jars to keep and blend. We have no idea, and if you were to make a spirit from the same mead, your results may be very, very different. Too many unknowns.

[@l0tus4life]

Algorithm 👍

[@DointheMost]

🍻

[@penelopepitstop7748]

Who is this guy - his aura is so off .. are ppl really that passionate about ‘Goose’? 😶 I would never ask for his advice for fear he’d try to belittle me.. Prickly 😮