I made one batch and it was way sour. neighbor drank that batch. He's like Johnny... he'll drink anything. made the second batch, still a little sour, sweetened with lactose, kegged and let it sit for six months. Damn good stuff. Neighbor gets a glass now and then, but for the most part, it's mine.
I made another batch a couple months ago. I used:
5 gals juice
3 lbs honey
sweet mead yeast.
after the the first week of fermentation, when the smell dropped off, I added a coule sicks of cinnimon and half a vanilla bean. No idea what this will come out like, but I like vanilla cream ale and cinnimon spiced rum, sooooo...... its sitting in a secondary jug, bulk aging for a few months. No idea what it tatses like yet. Started another batch last week the same recipe, except I added a few whole cloves and some nutmeg to it.
Its cheap, and if it tastes like *ss, the neighbor can have it.