Whisky from...? Israel

Our latest in the Whisky from...? series comes from Israel and the Milk & Honey distillery.

The distillery was built in Tel Aviv 2014 with distillation starting in 2015, they mill, mash and ferment in-house maturing in carefully-selected ex-Bourbon casks and a collection of new oak barrels and kosher ex-wine barrels.

Due to Israel’s hot climate the distillery claims that their whisky reaches maturity 2-2.5 times quicker than a typical Scotch; so their 3 years-old could be equated to a 6-8 years old Scottish Single Malt.

They have released a number of young whiskies, both single cask and cask marriages over the last few years, their first official single malt was sold via auction in August.

In September, at this year's London Whisky Show, they released their first ever publicly available single malt. This is a first look at what their commercial release will be -  it's around 3½ years old, a limited edition  of 100 bottles matured in an ex-bourbon cask with a finish in kosher Pedro Ximénez casks, bottles at 55% ABV. Their first 'standard' single malt is due for release in early 2020.

Single Cask a 55% 3½yo

Distillery notes: There's not a lot of information about the whisky but what I have found out is that it has notes of red fruit, sherry, vanilla and oak with a sweet milk chocolate taste with an oak and light tobacco finish.

My thoughts:

Appearance: Dark gold almost brown in the glass, thin gravity defying swirls which form an inverted crown, eventually falling as slow thick legs. 

Nose:  Dunnage warehouse, musty bookshop, sherry bomb notes - strawberry jam, dried fruit, a little orange juice. 

Palate: Smooth arrival very sweet, again strawberry jam, a little dryness. A sticky toffee sauce mouthfeel, dried fruit and a little vanilla. A few more sip reveal a chocolate note. 

Finish: Lingering strawberry jam, very dry, a little orange again. 

Overall: If you didn't know you'd say this was a Speyside Sherry Bomb - a diluted A'Bunadh maybe? I don't know the length of time in each cask but the PX has certainly dominate the bourbon. If this is a sign of what's to come then we are in for a treat! A can easily see this, at 5 years old, being a match for some much older Speyside sherry bombs. Looking forward to next year's commercial release.

Many thanks to Emily at @MaverickDrinks for the sample!