Now that you mention it, most meads in my experience get better when chilled. I was not much for the hot spice mulled meads. Mostly, I would say it depends on the mead. Dry meads I would say taste better cold particularly if it is a sparkling mead (read as carbonated) But by the sounds of the mead you describe, it wasn't done clarifying/fermenting/and had too much honey in it for water ratio. This probably stopped the fermentation so not only is it too dense, in your description syrupy, but also had a lot of free floating yeast, and it got worse when chilled.
Meads come in several diffrent flavors, Meglathins are meads bit spices and Memonells(?sp) are meads with fruit. Not sure if there is a term when both are present. The color should be mostly amber like a good colored transparent beer. Depending on what is in the mead it might have a slight color. Like a blueberry having a nice deep purple color or the a strawberry having a light pink color. Gererally good mead will poor almost the consitsancy of water. Much thiner than most beers. So if it is thick and tastes like you say and gets thicker when you chill it, Yeah not good mead and possibly mead that is not done or improperly made.
Some people do like mead heated up with a teabag of spices. Generally called Mulled Mead.
Some like it room temp and insist that it is best at room temp.
Then others like it chilled like beer or white wine.
Me, I say depends on the mead. The more fruity meads would be better cold, like the strawberry, peach, or others. The Meglathins are generally ones that would be better warm but wouldn't need to be so. I think that a sage mead or birch bark mead would be good warm, as would a nutmeg or cinnamon mead. I once heard of a garlic mead that reportedly was fantastic. Same thing with a clove cinnamon mead I heard of. Or even the more unusual ones such as a heather mead or annise mead. It is all a matter of taste.
Mead comes in as many varieties as there is imagination. Much more than wine or beer.
I mean a person that likes a Guiness beer might rightfully hate miller lite. But then mike like a microbrewed stout or other beer just fine. Same thing with mead.
