So this is not really a post, per se. Just a cool update on life.
I took Hardscrabble’s maple syrup, and a recipe he gave me, and I fermented the syrup. Maple syrup mead. Finally bottled it tonight. It’s very sweet, with (obviously) a strong maple flavor. I put a little chunk of oak in the mead for the secondary fermentation, giving it a little oak undertone. Or is it overtone? Either way, it’s good stuff. I’m thinking if a cold front will ever blow through Texas next winter, it’ll be prime sipping stuff then. Or, fuck, if the world goes to hell in a handbasket before next winter, who wants to stay sober through that??
There’s only two bottle of it, because I just made a one gallon test batch. Now that I know it’s so good, I will want to make some more next year. 
Also, 11 bottles of persimmon wine from the persimmon tree down the street. Very dry, and very strong. My wife says I should call it persimmon moonshine, because it burns just a little on the way down.
All in all, a productive night.
@HSF – Can I buy syrup in bulk next year? I may have a winning formula, lol!
That is just beautiful stuff. We’ve made a bit of it, tried several variations using whatever is in abundance to cut it- apples, blackberries, etc. and it has never failed to produce a memorable and intoxicating spirit for those cold nights around a fire. You can also distill it to make a very potent rum- so I am told.
Thanks for giving it a try and for sharing this, it inspired the heck out of me this morning.
Can we have the recipe? Please
http://homedistiller.org/sugar/wash-sugar/maple
Thanks Tim.
Looks delicious. If the liquid is still sweet that means there still may be residual sugar from the syrup. If you did not kill the yeast (chemically or through pasteurization) you may get bottle bombs as it keeps fermenting. Careful.
@drew: Good point. I thought about that (briefly) as I was bottling last night. But, frankly, I was drunk from the persimmon wine. Strong stuff. So, I didn’t do anything about it. I will need to address that.
Although, I wonder what sparkling maple mead would be like? Probably pretty good.