Review of not a cider, but a mead, Nectar Creek Nectarade (Lemon Lime).  Nectar Creek closed in October 2019, but 2 Towns Ciderhouse has started making their meads.  It is my first time trying this, but I’ve had Nectar Creek’s Honeycone and Waggle.

>>This is a review of a sample bottle provided to Cider Says by 2 Towns.  Although I will take care to treat it the same as any other review, there is always the potential for bias as I received it for free.  The only consideration I knowingly made was pushing this up in my review cue.  I love free stuff, especially cider!  Want your cider or mead reviewed here?  Contact me.<<

Mead:  Nectarade
Meadery:  Nectar Creek
Location:  Corvallis OR
ABV:  8.0%
How Supplied:  500ml bottles
Style: American craft mead (made from water & honey), with lemon & lime juice and apple brandy

Availability:  2 Towns’ taproom, local delivery in Corvallis OR, and online sales, until a full roll out in September with 6 packs of cans

Mead Description:  Freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice blended with unfiltered honey to make a mead that is tart and electrifying.

Meadery Description:  Founded in 2012, Nectar Creek makes meads using unfiltered honey. Their offerings include a wide variety of lightly carbonated meads. As one of the leaders of the resurgence of the mead category, Nectar Creek’s products have been helping bring this age-old beverage into the mainstream.

Price:  n/a (retails for ~ $7-8 / bottle)
Where Bought:  n/a
Where Drank:  home
How Found:  it showed up

First Impression:  Medium straw yellow hue.  Low carbonation.  Smells of honey, citrus, and something else I couldn’t figure out (maybe from the apple brandy, which appeared to have been added to increase the ABV up to the new 8.0%?).

Tasting Notes:  Semi-dry to semi-sweet.  Light to medium bodied.  Moderate tartness and acidity.  Hints of bitterness.  No tannins, sourness, or funk.  Notes of lemon, lime, and honey.  Moderate length tart finish with an aftertaste which reminded me of artificial sweeteners.  Low honey flavor and complexity.  Moderate flavor intensity.  High sessionability.

My Opinion:  I wasn’t into this one, and neither was my husband.  The citrus flavor just didn’t seem to work in a mead, and the artificial taste just made it worse.  I did however like the flavor intensity and ABV (8.0%), both of which are higher than many of the newer mead options (often canned and referred to as “session” meads).  Lemon-Lime and Coffee seem like interesting choices for initial re-releases.

Most Similar to:  Nothing I’ve had.  The meads I’ve tried have been plain, or with flavors like vanilla or berry, not citrus.

Closing Notes:  This didn’t seem up to 2 Towns’ usual high quality.  I actually can’t remember ever not liking anything from them, although some I enjoy much more than others.  I’m guessing this was an initial batch, and they will work out the kinks in the next couple months before their larger release.

Have you tried Nectar Creek mead?  What did you think?