mmk so i made my mead today.
I made a one gallon batch with 4 pounds clover honey. I warmed up some water to about 100 degrees and took a small amount off to rehydrate the yeast (used ec-1118). From there i added a small bottle of real peppermint extract (found an alcohol, not oil based) to the water, mixed in the honey, added a tsp of yeast nutrient and 1/5 tsp of energizer and stirred the crap out of it to airate it. Once the yeast was ready i pitched it in and airrated the batch a litle more and now its sitting on my desk bubbling away like crazy.
I was unable to get a SG reading because while i was sanatizing everything, my girlfriend got home with groceries and set a case of pop onto my hydrometer, needless to say, it didnt survive.
I plan adding nutrients to the must tommorow, on day 5 and day 10.
I would like to leave it in the primary for about 3-4 weeks, rack to secondary and bulk age it about 7-8 months. Once its done bulk aging i'll bottle it and it will get another 3-4 months before i pop them open for next christmas!
The must smelled very much like peppermint, but i tasted in and it had a hint of peppermint, but was by no means overpowering.
edit: i did some calculations and the OG should be around 1.106