I just used Max MIller's recipe, other than adjusting the botanicals a bit to account for what I already had and what I personally enjoy. Ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, and juniper is what I went with. For those that don't already know, bochet is mead made with caramelised honey. The process of caramelising the honey is where I tripped up last time; the process gives off so much steam and basically spits nature's napalm at you, so it's really easy to underdo it. Still, I made something decent enough to make me want to try again, and here it is!
The two bottles in the pic are only about a quarter of the output, but almost all of my bottles currently have a different homebrew in them right now so I had to start improvising containers. I'm delighted with this round! It has a lovely deep flavour, the cloying sweetness of honey is reduced to a pleasant background. I'm delighted with the colour too after the initial not-fully-caramelised attempt straight up looked like a bottle of piss
What made this batch look so red? The Max Miller recipe looks almost black.
I think it's just a combination of the lighting, my cheap phone's camera, the size of the bottles, and the background. You can see a little of the redness in the glass in Miller's photo, it's only the much larger demijohn that looks black. His is also against a dark background, while mine is against a light one
Or maybe I fucked up somewhere, that does remain a real possibility