Citrus Mead

I was going through my recipe archive and found this recipe for a Citrus Mead:

Citrus Mead

Ingredients:
-10 lbs honey
-Orange peel (skin of one orange)
-Sliced ginger (about one finger's worth)
-Yeast

Directions:
Make a basic mead with 2 lbs of honey per gallon. Use Orange Blossom honey or a light wildflower honey for this recipe.

Just before taking the must off the boil, add a small amount of sliced ginger (about one thumb's worth for a 5-gallon batch) and then add the thinnest peel of orange skin (about 3/4 of the skin of the orange). Be careful not to get the pith
(the white part below the skin) because it leaves an undesirable aftertaste.

Let it cool naturally about 3/4 hour (longer for larger batches) and then remove the ginger and orange peel.
Put in a carboy to cool, then add yeast and let it go for three to six weeks (At least until it starts to clear).
Bottle, let sit for another week or two (to charge the bottles) and then chill and serve.

Has anyone made anything similar to this. I'm thinking about using this one as my basic Christmas spiced orange mead recipe and then tweaking it with spices and other goodies.

Thoughts?

Oskaar

Good Suggestions "J", Thanks!

I agree with you about the amount of orange zest, and I'll probably use about 6 oranges.

I also agree about the alcohol leeching off the flavor of the zest. I have some good steeping bags that I bought some time back. I tend to stay away from the coffee filters because I can taste the paper flavor. That might seem weird, but I can also taste it when I brew coffee. That's why I went out and bought a coffee machine with a gold filter basket. For the addtional spices I'll use cinnamon sticks, clove, nutmeg, allspice and coriander.

Has anyone tried a peanut butter mead yet? I had way too much time on my hands last night, and peanut butter mixed with honey has always been one of my favorite treats, so I don't see why this would be excellent as an aperitif.

Cheers,

Oskaar