Greetings, everyone. (well, all three of you anyway)
I drank a bit of my second batch of mead last weekend at a party, and it was tolerable, but nothing special. I used lalvin EC-1118 yeast, which can tolerate pretty stiff alcohol levels. The first batch ended up around 17 or 18%, but was a little warm, so I made the second more like 12-13%. This yeast imparts a bit of its own aromas, which reminded me of cured meat.
Rather than adding fruit, I tried a variation of metheglyn. I picked a whole pile of fresh honeysuckle flowers and let them soak in the must overnight, and strained them out before pitching the yeast. I was hoping to capture some of their wonderful sweet aroma, but it didn't work. It would have probably been better to try it after fermentation like the traditional way, but they happened to be blooming at that time.
Kinda silly, I know. That's why I've come here looking for better ideas.
Oh, and I don't like boiling anything. It destroys delicate aromas and flavors.