This is Persephone. Persephone is the best cat.

Sappy moment: I adopted Persephone when she was about four months old from a bleak county shelter. I didn't pick her; I meant to get an older cat, and I thought she was a funny-looking little thing. But Persephone stuck her paws out when I walked by and started wailing like I've never heard a cat wail before, and you don't argue with a cat like that. So I took her home, and she grew into the sweetest, smartest, and softest cat I'll probably ever meet. She's almost eight now, and she's the best cat. So I made a mead in her honor.

I named Persephone after the Greek goddess of the underworld, because she was an undersized, goofy kitten with an enormous personality that needed an appropriately dramatic name. This is why her mead has pomegranate in it.

Ingredients in this batch

  • 2 lbs Kirkland clover honey
  • 1 tsp yeast nutrient
  • ⅛ tsp DAP
  • ½ pack of recently expired WLP775 English cider yeast
  • 32 oz Simple Truth 100% pomegranate juice
  • ½ gallon bottled water, plus Denver tap water to 1 gallon

Process

This mead was deep red bordering on black when I started it, but seems to be on its way to a less underworldly hue now once the yeast started settling out. I briefly considered adding another 32 oz of pomegranate juice in secondary, but wound up loving the original attempt's result and didn't fuss with it. Starting gravity was 1.086, and it finished right at 1.000 for an estimated ABV of 11.5%. The pomegranate is pronounced, but not overwhelming.