Today I have the opportunity to try the Milk & Honey Classic single malt whisky. What an exciting opportunity, the chance to try whisky from a new country; Israel. This country is certainly not known for whisky distilling.
Plans for a whisky distillery began in 2012 after a group of entrepreneurs decided to establish the first whisky distillery in Tel Aviv.
The Milk & Honey distillery was Israel’s first urban single malt whisky distillery and began operating in 2014 in the south of Tel Aviv. The distillery’s first products reached the shelves during the first quarter of 2016.
The climate in Israel is certainly as far removed from cold and wet Scotland as possible. Similar to India or indeed South Africa, the hot, humid climate speeds up maturation.
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The entrepreneurs hired the late Dr Jim Swan, one of the world’s most accomplished master distillers and an expert in hot climate distillation and maturation, as an advisor. Dr Swan assisted with the recipe and all kinds of specifications to make sure the production was optimal for warm weather.
Other releases from this Israel based distillery include the Elements Red Wine Cask, Elements Peated and the Elements Sherry Cask. They also produce gin, namely the Levantine gin and oak-aged gin and even a young malt aged in pomegranate wine casks.
It is matured in ex-bourbon and red-wine STR (shaved, toasted, re-charred) casks. The Milk & Honey Classic is unpeated, non-chill-filtered with natural colour. It is now available in SA and retails for around R 790. I see that Whisky Brother and Bottega Whiskey club has some bottles available. Milk & Honey Classic single malt is certified kosher.
COUNTRY:Israel
ABV: 46%
COLOUR: Rich gold
NOSE: Caramel sweetness, dry oak with hints of vanilla and toffee. An amazingly bold nose for such a young release. I love the creamy caramel sweetness. The Classic has a unique nose.
PALATE: Dry wood with vanilla and pepper and faint hints of green grass. After the sweet nose, I was expecting a sweeter taste, but the sweetness only comes through after adding a bit of water. Medium body and quite oily. Bit of alcohol heat.
FINISH: Medium body with oak and soft black pepper.
RATING: VERY GOOD
Not the most complex release, but easy drinking and distinctive. The best feature is the nose. It is warming with creamy caramel; I could smell my glass the whole evening.
This Classic edition is one of those releases that leaves a clear picture in my head; eating cream caramel toffees while hiking through an old forest. I enjoyed it, and I am happy that I have a big bottle in my collection to enjoy this again.
I tried the Classic and a few of the Element releases as part of an online tasting event hosted by WhiskyBrother and Universal Beverages, the importer of Milk & Honey to South Africa. We had the opportunity to listen to the team at the Tel Aviv distillery.
We even had a virtual walkabout in the Tel Aviv distillery. The attention to detail and quality from this distillery shines through in the whisky, and I will extend my collection with more when they become available in South Africa.
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That label...They know no one wants to drink "milk" from a bull right?