Israel | Whisky Lady

I first encountered Milk and Honey (M&H) with an early pre-launch sample shared with an industry insider friend. To be honest, I don’t recall years later what we thought, however I was interested to try it properly.

Started in 2013, M&H calls their whisky “ultra kosher” and take advantage of the warmer climate of Israel to accelerate the maturation.

In short, I was quite curious to see what I would find in the Vita Dulcis Whiskey International 2020 Advent Calendar sample…

israel – Milk & Honey Classic Single Malt 46%

Colour – Light gold
Nose – Hit of spice, then honey, there is something almost earthy about the aroma, some oats, a bit yeasty, hint of raisins
Palate – Again – back to being a real zinger with another hit of spice that blazes all the way to the back of the throat, a bit bitter and woody
Finish – Cloves, nutmeg, maybe a bit of apple cider?

Overall I found this quite direct, uncomplicated, young and a bit brash. While it may not be the most remarkable whisky, I couldn’t help but remember a trip to Israel in 1988 that truly was remarkable. For that alone, it was worth the experience.

What more do we know? It is matured in a combination of bourbon, virgin oak and shaved, toasted and re-charred casks. Beyond that, I wasn’t able to find out much more…

I also didn’t find the distillery official tasting notes, however Billy Abbott from The Whisky Exchange had this to share:

NOSE – A big hit of honey and lemon leads to brown-sugar topped porridge. The oaty notes get biscuity, with vanilla and more zesty lemon. Flapjacks develop, with hints of sultana and raisin.
PALATE – Layers of honey kick things off: sweet runny honey with a hint of manuka. Dark chocolate sits behind, studded with candied lemon peel. Grainy notes develop: the flapjacks from the nose are joined by oatcakes and vanilla shortbread, all drizzled with honey.
FINISH – A burst of barrel char is overtaken by toasted granola, even more honey and bittersweet dark chocolate.
COMMENT – An excellent balance of distillery character and cask, with layers of citrus, grain, vanilla and darker notes all covered trademark honey notes.

Would I agree? Hmm… to be honest Billy clearly found more going on than I did in my wee sample. However it is certainly in a similar vein.

And with that, my wee trip around the world continued another day with another dram..