I used this recipe in Nov 09. I let this stuff sit in the carboy (primary) for a little over two months, carefully regulating temperature. Right out of the glass carboy, it tasted great (so I thought--I was siphoning into bottles and had a taste.) But, the next day, for some reason, I couldn't drink it. Flavors were too harsh. So, I let it age. Today is March 14, 2010 and I just opened a bottle. I like it. Ummm. I don't think it's exactly what I, or anyone else using this recipe for the first time expected. Mine still has a very prominent orange peel flavor. It's not sweet at all. It smells like orange peels. I didn't get a hydrometer reading, so I can't say for sure, but my mead seems like it must be about 16 to 18 % alc. My yeast cells just didn't give up. The air lock was bubbling slowly the whole month. If I ever use the recipe again, I'm going to use only half the orange peels, but more fruit. And, I might pitch a yeast strain used for champagne. I did put a tiny bit of priming sugar in with the bottles. Not enough to really produce big bubbles. But, there seem to be tiny little bubbles at first pour??? THIS WAS A VERY AWESOME INTRODUCTION TO HOME BREWING!