Milk and Honey Elements Red Wine Cask

In the lead-up to Passover, I usually review a Japanese whisky before I seal up my cabinet. In 2020 I broke with that tradition and reviewed an Israeli whisky. With the rising rate of anti-semitic incidents, both violent and online, I decided this year I would try to do a series of reviews from my small stash of Israeli whisky before I close things down for 8 days in April.

In December 2019, I visited and received a tour of the Milk and Honey distillery. I have visited very few distilleries and this was the first one that focused on single malt whisky, so I took copious notes and photographs. You can read about my adventure here:

connosr.com/milk-and-honey-israel-the-next…

At the time of my visit, their first official whisky (at least 3 years old), their Classic ,was weeks from being released. I was able to taste it and a few special single casks, but the only whisky I could bring home was a 3 1/2 year old distillery cask that I bottled myself (it was lots of fun).

In early 2020 a friend’s mother returned from Israel and gifted me a bottle of the Classic, which I reviewed in April that year. In 2021 a number of the Elements series bottlings became in Canada and I was able to purchase three of them. I later strengthened my position with one of the rare cask strength bottlings from the _Apex series.

The Elements series whiskies are expressions that are bottled at 46%. The whiskies are matured in a combination of ex-bourbon barrels and another type of barrel. In this case, the distillery used casks that had previously contained Kosher red wine “from the finest wineries in Israel”. This bears stating 2 observations. First, while this may be a good selling point for a certain target audience, it is generally accepted that all whisk(e)y is Kosher (unless owned or consumed by Jews during Passover), and there is no need to use casks that had contained Kosher wine. Second, until recently, Kosher wine did not have a good reputation for quality.

There is a lot of talk of “STR” casks by M&H. However, there is no mention that that these casks were shaved, toasted or recharred. This whisky states on the bottle that it is natural colour and not chill-filtered.

This bottle was opened on September 3 at an epic tasting, and has remained gassed since that time. It is 90% full.

This expression is reviewed in my usual manner in a Brilliant Highland whisky glass, allowing it to settle after which I take my nosing and tasting notes, followed by the addition of a few drops of water, waiting, then nosing and tasting.

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Nose: 21.5/25

Fresh, sweet, fruity. Some fresh cherry juice, hint of apple pie filling. I think I get a wisp of prosecco. If a nose can be effervescent, this one is. Water brings out more fruit in the nose.

Taste: 21.5/25

Sweet, fruity, spicy arrival. There is definitely a red wine influence. I find it difficult to tease out any particular fruits. A little peppery in the development. Quite tasty. Water dilutes the flavour quite a bit, and it becomes more bitter in the development. (20.5/25)

Finish: 21.5/25

Peppery, slightly astringent. Hint of medium body red wine on exhalation, less so with water.

Balance: 21/25

The nose and palate appear to complement each other. I think overall it is a touch sweet, and not very complex, however pleasant. Water does this no favours. (20.5/25)

Score: Neat - 85.5/100 With Water: 84/100

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Comparing this to the sherry cask expression, this one has slightly high pitched notes on the nose. It is a little sweeter. The flavour is dampened when I try it after the sherry version.

Of course curiosity got the better of me and I combined what was left of this pour and the sherry cask bottling into one glass. The nose is pretty much the same as before, but the palate explodes with more flavour. Perhaps this is a case where the whole is more than the sum of its parts.

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This is not a bad whisky. Fairly simple, and good for casual sipping, perhaps while watching TV or with friends. Given the price though, it’s not one I would buy again.

This is a young distillery, and I think it has a bright future.