Update from "first batch need advice"

[SkeletorMob]

First let me thank everyone who responded, you guys are rad. So yesterday I got 2 packets of k1v1116,
Monday night the show mead took a bad smell but still tasted sweet stopped agitating and covered, now upon chatting with guy at the shop we decided I may be able to save it with pasteurization before introducing the known yeast. And also that I would dilute into 1 gallon water. Boiled the water let it cool a bit and threw in the gallon of show mead and let itself hopefully pasteurize and cool down until the rehydration temp for the yeast, added the yeast. I would describe the bad smell as rotten or moldy grapes, but not extremely pungent, after the mix cooled I could smell honey and sweet again but still a grape smell. The grape smell holds true today. BUT I have very active fermentation in all three gallons! So besides thanking everyone for the points to get me going, I'd like to ask what you think about the grape smell, which is no longer a bad smell, but still grape. Think it's worth letting the ferment go, or cut the loss and make a new recipe? I'm just unsure if it's a loss or not, could the grape smell be indicative of infection?
Show mead o.g. recipe
1 gallon (ended up a third less because of displacement 1st mistake)
6 lbs honey
25 raisins
10 oak leaves
Is now cut in half in two gallons diluted with new water
This is the recipe that took the smell
The other recipe tastes like Christmas and is fermenting excellently now
1 gallon water
4-5 lbs honey
Tea of allspice and cinnamon stick
25 raisins
One vanilla bean (probably 6" long)
Juice of half an orange(+/-)
Orginal starter came from organic ginger and sugar
In fact all sourced ingredients were raw and/or organic.
Hope Thursday is great, almost friday!

 

[nitack]

Unless you are itching to use the questionable fermenter for something else, what do you have to lose? Let it run its course and see what you get. You might have gotten some off smells from that early wild ferment, but it is possible they will age out, or even get blown out as your good yeast kicks the ferment into high gear.

Advice: you'll make many decent meads, you'll make some truly horrible ones, and occasionally you'll make something godly. But rarely will you know which it is even on the day you bottle it.

 

[SkeletorMob]

Advice: you'll make many decent meads, you'll make some truly horrible ones, and occasionally you'll make something godly. But rarely will you know which it is even on the day you bottle it.

Thank you for the wisdom!
I'm very happy with them fermenting. I am itchy, but I'm going to take it out on another recipe haha
Its inspired by Joe's ancient and from the book my mom got me! It's basically Joe's with some extras in the spices. Nutmeg and ginger if I'm not mistakrn

 

[CKuhns]

Love the advice: (and Too True)

Advice: you'll make many decent meads, you'll make some truly horrible ones, and occasionally you'll make something godly. But rarely will you know which it is even on the day you bottle it.