Milk And Honey Classic Single Malt Whisky Review

Milk And Honey “Classic” Release, 46% abv, (About NIS 200 in Israel).

After some very successful inaugural releases with their very tasty “Young Single Malt” range and two limited edition 3-Year-Old Single Malt Whisky releases, Milk And Honey, the Israeli Whisky distillery, situated in the heart of Tel Aviv, now has sufficient stock to commence production of a standard core product line as well as some experimental limited releases.

The series starts off with their introductory basic expression, "The Classic", made from a marriage of predominantly Ex-Bourbon casks and some (Kosher) Israeli Red-Wine STR (aka Doctor Jim Swan) casks.

Next is their “Elements” series, consisting of three bottlings. The first is a Sherry Cask release, matured in genuine (Kosher) Spanish Sherry Casks.

The second is a Peated Cask release, which (as far as I am aware) was not made with peated barley, but has instead copied the technique used in The Glenlivet Nadurra Peated expression, whereby they have bought up some Ex-Islay whisky casks which previously contained heavily peated Islay whisky, shipped them to Tel Aviv and was then used to mature Milk And Honey new-make-spirit.

Lastly, we have the Red Wine Cask release, matured in (Kosher) Ex-Israeli STR (Shaved back/Toasted/Re-Charred) Wine casks.

Branding

The new Milk and Honey standard releases see a completely new look from the Young Single Malt (see photo below), and first real Single Malt "3 Years of Age" Whisky releases. I must admit I do prefer the old bottle shape. It stood out on the shelf, whereas the new design doesn’t.

First the good news. On the front label they have Non Chill Filtered, Natural Colour (spelt correctly), and 46% Alc/Vol. All great things. It is a real shame that the distillery did not choose to put an age statement on the label though, and I feel it is indicative of their general thinking.

In a YouTube video on their channel they mention that these expressions are just over three years old but it really doesn't help to tell us in a video, it ought to state it on the label, where it counts!!!

They obviously won’t agree but, in my opinion, choosing to go the NAS (No Age Statement) route, relegates their whiskies to the cheap budget category of single malts like Auchentoshan American Oak, Tomatin Legacy, Glen Moray Classic, The Glenlivet Founders Reserve and other introductory low-priced single malts.

By not putting an age statement, they are only encouraging, nay forcing potential purchases to make comparisons between these NAS bottlings and Milk and Honey. This is a terrible mistake. Their product is so, so much more than this.

Young Single Malts are actually all the rage now and very trendy. (Just see how popular the Ardbeg Wee Beastie is with its proud 5-Year-Old statement on it, and many other young Scottish distilleries just bottling for the first time, yet nevertheless, put an age statement on their bottles.

Printing "3-Years Old" / "4 Year-Old" on the front implies a cool, highly sophisticated and understated self-confidence.  It sends a message that you have belief in the intrinsic quality of your product and are not afraid to put it out at this age! Why? Because, even at this young age, your message is that it is ready to drink and what’s more, those who try it will agree. So there!

Not choosing to put an age statement on your label, sends the exact opposite message, i.e., that you have a lack of confidence in your own product. If you think that punters are not going to notice that there is no age statement or distillation/bottling dates, then think again! (Especially as your previous products had them).

An often-overlooked alternative to age statements to consider for young whisky is the Vintage statement route, where Distillation and Bottling Year are proudly stated on the bottom of the label. This also sends a very positive message of being a "craft" product, of exclusivity and collectability. Something which someone would be proud to serve to their friends, that has pride of place on their shelves.

The Milk and Honey whiskies are well produced products but they are, in my opinion, too heavily influenced by the Tel Aviv marketing industry who are all about copying brand images of Western products, rather than creating something culturally unique. I feel that to a certain extent, this Tel Aviv “copy” culture has not only influenced the package design but has seeped into the product itself, where success is measured by how close it gets to mimicking real Scotch whisky, rather than forging a unique identity of its own which reflects Israel and the Israeli people. What I see is that it seems to reflect the culture of the Tel Aviv bubble, which is disconnected from the rest of Israeli society.

Packaging, Bottle design and Artwork

Overall impressions are that the overuse of lines at multiple angles, various bars and boxes, and character fonts, makes the design look too busy and awkward.

As mentioned in my review of the Yerushalmi Mount Moriah, I feel Yerushalmi distillery got it right. A touch of minimalism and understatement sends out an unspoken message of self-confidence in their product, something which the marketing guys in Tel Aviv just don’t get.

Whereas Yerushalmi successfully blend ancient Israeli symbolism with recognisable elements of a whisky distillery, the “Milk And Honey” artwork seems to be a combination of pretentious ultra-modern and generic Scotch Whisky Bottle design.

It all contributes to sending out an unspoken message that they are trying too hard to impress, which in turn gives people the feeling that they lack confidence in their commercial identity and product. I am not a marketing professional and this is just my own personal opinion, so you can take it or leave it.

Having said all this, the build quality of the box is excellent, far better than Yerushalmi and Golani distilleries. The bottle sits snuggly into the box with a competent design in the form of a thick cardboard folding, keeping the bottle neck in place during transit.

As I mentioned earlier. I really liked the original bottle design. It was aesthetically pleasing to the eye, it stood out and was instantly brand recognisable. These are exactly the characteristics who want in your brand packaging. The new bottle shape, although feeling quite comfortable in the hand, looks to me, to be far too similar to the current Auchentoshan packaging with similar box artwork, label designs, right down to the use of the graphic boxes and lines, the combinations of colours, (red/black and yellow), as well as almost identical bottle shape. 

Thanks to HaMesameiach Wine Store in Machane Yehuda who
let me take this photo of their bottles.

From a marketing point of view, I find this puzzling. By associating their product with Auchentoshan branding, they are linking Milk and Honey to Auchentoshan’s reputation in the industry, which is budget, casual, non-serious whisky drinker, over-processed, chill-filtering, minimum alcohol, caramel colouring and all the things which true whisky lovers steer clear of. I would have thought that this is the exact opposite image Milk And Honey would want to project. They obviously are aware that their branding looks similar to Auchentoshan. Has anyone at Milk and Honey realised that perhaps, this might not be such a good idea? (Only saying!)

The Plastic Cork

When I first encountered these plastic corks in Milk And Honey’s inaugural “Young Single Malt” releases, I was quite critical about the decision as I thought it cheapened the product. However, the stopper type has rather grown on me and I appreciate its clean surface and secure fit. I would suspect the plastic has many practical advantages over real cork, although my original criticism of it still stands. Plastic, as opposed to real cork or resin compound cork, looks cheap.

Anyway, let’s get on with the review.

Milk And Honey Classic Review.

Non Chill-Filtered, Natural Colour, Bottled at 46% abv.

Kashrus Certification: Star-K and Tel Aviv Rabbanut

Appearance

A medium golden amber colour, slightly darker than a typical Ex-Bourbon matured whisky (bottled at natural colour), and nowhere as dark as the standard caramel coloured Scotch whisky.

The Classic on the Left.  Elements-Sherry on the Right

Swirling the liquid around in the glass, it has a rather pleasing syrupy appearance, probably emanating from the unfiltered malted barley oils.

Nosing

The “Classic” has a particularly impressive full-bodied nose of rich honey in the foreground, vanilla cream biscuits and with a combination of predominantly creamy yellow fruits like cooked apples, ripe melon and peach, but with a hint of some light red fruits like sweet plums nicely married together with a delightful and surprisingly silky oak-dry spiciness.

Tasting

I was actually pleasantly surprised when I tasted this for the first time. I wasn’t expecting it to be so richly flavoured with a big mouthful of creamy malted barley, oak spices and honey.

There is a lovely balance of those Ex-Bourbon and the STR wine casks. Honey and brown Scotch toffee (and not dark toffee which you would have expected from heavily charred STR casks). The taste is what I would describe as upfront and bold, that is, that it portrays a sharply focused flavour profile reflecting exactly what you would expect from this cask combination.

After a few minutes you become aware of some nice silky medium bodied red wine tannic notes which I would not have expected to be present in this predominantly Ex-Bourbon matured Single malt.

When tasting, specific fruity flavours rather eluded me. Despite slowly swirling the whisky around in my mouth several times, I failed to identify any particular fruits, just general fruity profile flavours. I would put this down to the fact that this is, after all a very young whisky, despite its rapid Tel Aviv maturation. This is not unexpected as young Scotch Single Malts such as Tomatin Legacy and Auchentoshan American Oak, although possessing a powerful flavour character, individual flavours remain out of focus and elusive.

This whisky has obviously gone through some rapid maturation in the Tel Aviv heat and is, as I said, rich in flavours, yet it lacks complexity of detail, which, no matter how rapid the maturation, cannot make up for slow maturation in a cooler environment. Complexity of character only really comes from aging for a good few years in the cask. This is nit-picking however. Most casual whisky drinkers will I’m sure, be very impressed with this Classic expression.

Finish

The finish is sweet, fruity and oily but dies away quite quickly.

Conclusion

This Milk and Honey expression reminded me very much of the Diageo Singleton brand style. An extremely competent and well-constructed malt whisky, very reasonably priced (at least here in Israel) which would satisfy most average whisky drinkers. I am however a bit concerned that if it is marked up too high in the United States, it will price itself out the market.

I really did enjoy my time with the “Classic” and am very pleased I got to experience a bottle, although I doubt I would buy another one. Don’t get me wrong, it is very tasty stuff and if they offered this to me at a simcha, I’d be more than happy to drink it. However, the whole experience left me with a feeling that it’s just trying too hard to mimic the flavour profile a typical generic Scottish Highland single malt such as The Singleton. Comparisons could also be made to the lower priced Auchentoshans, Loch Lomonds and a Glenmorangie. In a blind tasting session, it would probably pass as a well-made Highland single malt, and that may sound like a compliment but, I am afraid, to me, (especially if they over price it in the States), it could be its downfall.  It simply lacks a unique flavour character signature of its own.

Moreover, there is nothing at all which indicates or even hints to me that it was made in Israel, (besides the name of the distillery).  It could just as well have been made in a distillery in Thailand which also specialises in STR casks and also does a sterling job of approximating Scotch Highland Single Malt. As an exercise in distilling and cask management, it’s great, but beyond that, I can’t help asking myself if there is a wide enough market for this, unless they price it within the same range as other NAS Kosher Scotch single malts.

I suspect that given the choice, most would rather buy the real McCoy, a Highland Single Malt with a descent Kashrus certification.

The same cannot be said for the Milk And Honey "Elements" Sherry expression which should, Be'ezras Hashem, be my next review. (I won't give too much away but will say that I am already on my second bottle of this one).