Well sour wood isnt one I can get but its supposed to make good meads by all account Tony,so iI'd likely not use it for a JAO.
I'd also say that if you haven't made JAO yet, try to make a benchmark batch or as close to the original recipe as you can. Then you could experiment with some vanilla extract or even just a quarter of a vanilla pod dropped in a bottle etc.
If you've got a fermenter big enough, a 3 or 5 gallon batch would give you enough bottles to drink/age/experiment etc i.e. JAO finishing sweet so maybe a couple with vanilla and maybe another 1 or 2 to replicate the Moniack findings - you should have about the right residual sugars so enough acid to drop the pH to the 2.6pH I measures or smaller increments and taste tests etc......
JAO should normally be ready as per the recipe in about 2 months as per the recipe (I always wait for the fruit to drop as it can be a bit of a bugger to rack as bread yeast lees are very fluffy and come back into suspension even when they think you've given them a sly look).
Get a few 1 gallon batches of different honeys or other recipes going too, it makes the waiting less painful
joes quick grape mead is supposed to be good quite quickly too. Plus if you can get wyeast liquid smak pack locally loveofrose and a few others have been on about this BOMM recipe that uses the wyeast 1388 belgian ale yeast and is apparently quite drinkable in a month or so......
If I get my stuff checked through and bottle anything decent (in the next month or so) I'll pm you for an address (or is that a problem with the US postal regs).......
