Review by: The Muskox
I’ve had a whole bunch of Milk & Honey at this point – a good friend of mine buys pretty much every bottling that comes into Canada, then pours them all for me. Indeed, that friend visited the Milk & Honey distillery in Tel Aviv earlier this year. He took the opportunity to tell head distiller Tomer Goren that a certain whisky-reviewing friend hasn’t really enjoyed their whisky!! What a guy…
Well, now I’m back in Canada and my friend has even more bottlings for me to try. This is their standard bottling, which I think I’ve tried casually before and didn’t really enjoy. Tomer said that I should give this flagship bottling another shot, so that’s what I’ll do.
Distillery: Milk & Honey.
Bottler: Official bottling.
Region / Style: Israel / Single malt.
ABV: 46%.
Age: No age statement.
Cask type: A combination of ex-bourbon barrels and STR (shaved/toasted/recharred) wine casks.
Price: $85 CAD.
Color: Light gold. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Nose: Sweet, with more than a little youthful burn. Apples and pears. Strong honey, and… is that a little beeswax? Butterscotch, cereals, and cinnamon.
A dribble of water freshens things up here, adding some orange peel.
Palate: Medium texture, slightly creamy. Arrives and builds slowly with whipped honey, apple, banana, and granola. It intensifies to, well, *almost* some oak, but really just more honey and some vanilla.
Water turns things a little drier, bringing some oak spice.
Finish: Medium-long. Honey, vanilla, maple butter, dried apple chips, white chocolate, and somehow some more beeswax.
Water brings some dried ginger.
Possible SMWS bottling name: “The sleepover cupboard”
Conclusion: You know what, that’s pretty good. I know the Milk & Honey guys refer to this one as a “table whisky”, something to keep on the table and pour without thinking too much about it. I think this whisky fills that role fairly well – it’s not very complex, but satisfyingly creamy and sweet, with some unexpected staying power on the finish. It’s a bit on the hot and young side, and yes, very sweet. I can imagine you’d do better in this price range with a similar scotch, but on an island, this is a decent drop.
Regarding my SMWS name, by best friend growing up had a cupboard in their house that was always chock-full of candy, chocolate, and sugar cereals… fond memories.
Final Score: 77.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 