The Land of Milk and Honey (Distillery)
The Land of Milk and Honey (Distillery)
Israel's first whiskey distillery, Milk and Honey, around for more than a decade, is giving Scotland and Ireland a run for their money.
Living in or visiting the Middle East, one might prepare themselves to focus on arak. There are stellar wine options and imports of the best alcoholic products around the world, but they are not homemade. For the beer drinkers among us, there’s always the reliable Goldstar. Going through all of the ways for one to get a buzz in the region, there’s one drink that no one expected to become a force in Israel.
That drink is whisky1 and it is making a name for itself. Plus, it’s kosher.
As a middle finger to antisemites in Europe, especially in Scotland and Ireland, Israel has claimed victory in a new field. We are known as the Start-up Nation in terms of hi-tech, but many neglect to follow the up-and-coming food ‘start-ups’ that are taking chances on improving the quality of beloved products and putting an Israeli spin on them. The newest in that tradition is whisky.
Getting Started
In 2013, M&H Distillery was founded in Tel Aviv by Gal Kalkshtein as the first whiskey distillery in Israel. It might have made a splash for diehard whiskey fans and as a unique attraction for tourists, but it went under the radar for many. It’s no surprise that one may wonder how this happened or how whisky can even be made in this climate. Gal credits the beautiful Mediterranean weather for his success:
"Israel's 300 days of sunshine a year and the Mediterranean climate are our biggest advantages. The warm climate maturation means that our whiskey ages quickly, but very gracefully. Whiskey made in warmer climatic conditions will be imbued with a specific terroir2 that gives it unique flavors, somewhat different from those of their counterparts on the Old Continent.”3
This weather allows for the malts to mature quicker and reach their prime in three years as opposed to other places, such as Scotland, where it takes at least eight years4. It might have appeared like a miracle or mistaken for a joke, but it seems that Israel could just be the perfect place to distill whisky.
That first year also included the hiring of Dr. Jim Swan, an expert in the world of whiskey. Gal describes the thinking behind bringing Dr. Swan in:
“It was one of the first steps we took when we decided to turn our dream about Israeli whisky into reality. Between traveling around the world, helping up-and-coming distilleries like us and advising well-established spirits brands, he happily joined our mission: not only building a distillery, but establishing an industry from scratch.
Swan was best known for his work in hot climate distillation.
This expertise made Jim Swan an X factor in this development. The M&H team was serious about success. It takes some humility to realize that someone might not know everything about a subject and turn to someone else for help. This humility paid off big time, as it ushered in an era of excellence.
“A meeting point between craft and science”
Israeli whiskey had a significant boost in recognition from M&H and their “Elements Sherry” winning the award for Best Single Malt Whiskey in the world at the World Whiskies Awards in London5. Going up against the world’s finest distilleries, which you might think to be dominated by Ireland, Israel emerged as an unlikely victor. It wasn't Israel’s first award. In fact, it had won Craft Producer of the Year, Brand Innovator of the Year, and Distiller of the Year, among others. But this was a jewel in the crown of Israeli alcohol.
Judges commented that the sabra whiskey was:
"Smooth in taste and heavy on the palate, this whiskey has flavors of golden syrup, vanilla, tropical fruit and iced tea, before a finish of oak tannins with hints of anise and lemon peel.”
It might not have received the attention of an Olympic medal or Judo championship, but this is quite exciting to whiskey aficionados or even Zionists who revel at all of Israel’s victories. I’m more of the latter, than the former. Although this victory has led me to enjoy some of M&H’s delights, including the winner itself.
The venue for my tasting of the best single malt whisky in the world was the beloved Whiskey Bar and Museum in the Sarona area of Tel Aviv. It is an excellent place to enjoy M&H whiskey. It happens to be located amongst the tunnels where Adolf Eichmann was hidden and smuggled before his trial. It adds a smooth ambiance and a wall showcasing over one thousand(!) whiskeys 6. It might not be your everyday restaurant, but it is certainly a winner for a special occasion.
With fame and recognition, you might guess that M&H’s excellent options would cost an arm and a leg. Their website has them priced from ₪225 ($61) for their basic blend to ₪575 ($155) for the fancy line.
Whether or not you drink whiskey or care about alcohol, this is a strong example of Israel being successful in a wide range of fields. Hi-tech and defense dominance might be somewhat obvious, while whiskey excellence is surprising. Who know what else we are capable of?
If you’ve become curious about how whiskey is made, PBS has kindly created a 5-minute video on the process:
Song of the Week
Benaia is my favorite singer. He brings such soul to every song and you can feel that he feels the words. His sound unites all of his songs with a common thread, but each one seems to bring its own powerful message. I’ve been to two of his concerts. Most recently, he called up a group of survivors from Nova and they all sang his song, ‘It’s okay not to be okay’. They put the lyrics up on the screen and everyone joined in with the touching words.
This song, which means ‘dimples’, is a sweet and airy song that brings a certain lightness that seems elusive these days.
Slang of the Week
שאלת קיטבג
Sheh-aye-lawt keet-bag
A kitbag question
This is an army slang that refers to a question that creates more work for everyone, like in class when someone asks if there's homework when the teacher didn't mention it.
It's origin comes from a situation in the army where commander says that there's a break and to meet in ten minutes - someone asks 'do we need our kit bags?', which are heavy. The commander responds, "oh, thanks for reminding me. Carry your kitbags with you!". The order to bring the kit bags wouldn't have happened had the question not been asked.
Thank you kindly for reading this week’s post. I enjoy writing them a lot and I don’t always know how I feel or think about something until I write a post about it. I hope that you will continue to read and enjoy. I’d be grateful if you could tell one friend or family member to give it a try. It might be a small Whatsapp message, but it goes a long way as we grow our reach.
Wishing you a Shabbat shalom and a great weekend! I encourage you to add an episode of the Sababoosh podcast to it.
Whisk(e)y is spelled with an ‘e’ in the US and Ireland and without one everywhere else.
A French word for ‘soil’ or ‘earth’
“Israeli whiskey wins world's ‘Best Single Malt’ award”. https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/culture/1680419226-israeli-whiskey-wins-world-s-best-single-malt-award
“The best whisky in the world is from Israel”. https://www.en-vols.com/en/taste/gastronomy/best-whisky-world-israel/
“Israeli whiskey wins world's ‘Best Single Malt’ award”. https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/culture/1680419226-israeli-whiskey-wins-world-s-best-single-malt-award
“Whiskey Bar and Museum“. https://www.timeout.com/israel/bars/whiskey-bar-museum