Yerushalmi "Burnt Offering" - Batch 1 Review

Yerushalmi Burnt Offering - Batch 1

This is the first official bottling from the Yerushalmi distillery which uses the phrase “Single Malt Whisky”. Previous bottlings have only been labelled “Single Malt” without the word “Whisky” (spelt without an ‘e’ like Scotch).

There are as yet, no actual legally enforced Israeli government Whisky regulations in place, nor any plans to implement any. However, the three largest distilleries in Israel, namely M&H (Milk & Honey), Golani and Yerushalmi distilleries, to their great credit, comply with the UK Government’s Scotch Whisky Association - SWA Regulations regarding labelling standards and legally defined whisky terms.

This is the reason why Yerushalmi did not use the word “Whisky” for its earlier bottlings, as, according to the SWA regulations, the spirit must have been matured in Oak Casks for a minimum of three years to be legally termed “Whisky”.

As far as I understand, they could have chosen to use the word “Whisky” on their labels for spirits which had been matured for less than three years, and it would not have broken any Israeli regulations. However, they chose not to do this.

Despite the fact that it isn’t stated on the label, the manager and owner, David Zibell informed me in a WhatsApp interview, that this “Burnt Offering Batch 1” release is just over three years old.

The reasons why these Israeli distilleries agree to comply with the SWA regulations is that it gains the respect of whisky enthusiasts all over the world, and enables their products to be exported world-wide whilst complying with local regulations.

See: Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009: Guidance for Producers and Bottlers

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/2890/contents/made

https://www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/media/1519/swr-guidance-for-bottlers-and-producers.pdf

Label Guide. Click to magnify.

As well as the term “Whisky”, there are many other SWA legally defined terms which appear on a whisky label, such as “Finish”, “First-Fill”, “Refill”, “Natural Colour”, Non-Chill-Filtered” and “Single Cask”. Moreover these distilleries follow the SWA label guidelines regarding Age Statements and Vintage Statements.

So, when seeing any of these terms on the label they will be instantly recognised and understood by all whisky enthusiasts throughout the world. It’s a very sensible approach.

Unfortunately, there are some spirits producers here in Israel who are not as respectful for either the SWA regulations for whisky or for the US Code of Federal Regulations Title 27, CFR 5.1 for American style Whiskey. Consequently, if or when they try and import their products into Europe and North America, they may well fall foul of government regulations.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/27/5.143

For instance, as far as I understand the regulations, you cannot use the term “Bourbon Whiskey” on the label if the spirit was made in Israel, even if it was made in the exact same way as they make Bourbon in the US, as “Bourbon” as a type of whiskey, is a protected legal term for a type of whiskey exclusively made in the United States. This definition “Made in the United States” includes not only the distillation and entirety of the maturation process in oak “containers” (yes, for some reason the regulations say “container”, not “barrel” or “cask”), but also the definition includes the bottling, which has to be done in the United States too.

So, let’s say, for example, hypothetically speaking you understand, a particular distillery here in Israel decided to import barrels of whiskey from a Bourbon distillery in the United States into Israel and after storing the whiskey in the barrels here in Israel for a further few months, then proceeded to bottle and label the whiskey in Israel. My understanding is, this would not be legally recognised either in Europe or North America as “Bourbon”. This is despite the fact that had the contents of the barrels been bottled in America (instead of being transported to Israel), then they could have even legally called it “Straight Bourbon” (as our hypothetical whiskey had already aged in barrels in the US for two years).

A “Finish”?

Moreover, if these same barrels which have already been used to age the whiskey in the United States, were brought to Israel where the whiskey continued to mature in the same barrels, this would NOT be called a “Finish” or “Double Maturation”, because a Finish requires a change of casks (usually from less active to more active casks such as Refill Ex-Bourbon to First-Fill Ex-Sherry) and has nothing to do with change of location.

For instance, if Diageo moves some casks from the warehouse in their distillery to their main warehouse in Perth, before bottling, this would not be considered a “Finish”! The idea that it would be is, in my opinion, utterly ridiculous.

A hypothetical Whiskey Label. Click to magnify.

Terms like “Finish”, “Straight”, “Small Batch” and “Single Barrel” have their own legal definitions under the US Federal government’s  “Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)” labelling guidelines.

So, let's say there was a Bourbon or "Bourbon Style” Whiskey, where it states on its label both “Small Batch” and “Single Barrel”! Obviously, these terms would be contradictory.

So, again, Kol HaKavod (Well Done!!!) to both Golani, Yerushalmi and M&H Distilleries for respecting the regulations in the UK as well as in North America.

Yerushalmi “Burnt Offering” Batch 1 Review

Bottled at 55% abv

Non-Chill Filtered

Natural Colour

Peated at 55 PPM

Maturation: Ex-Beer Barrels and Charred French Oak Wine Casks.

Distillation Date: ? Not stated.

Bottled Date: 01/2023

Age: Although not stated (which is a shame), it is guaranteed over 3 years old.

Kosher Status: Certification from OK (America) organisation, as well as local certification by HaRav Yosef Levi, Chief Rabbi of Katzrin, Ramat HaGolan.

Price: NIS 275 (In Israel), £60 in the UK, $70 in the United States.

Some Background Information

I had a brief WhatsApp conversation with David Zibell, regarding the “Burnt Offering” and he filled in a few gaps for me.

The barley used for this batch was peated in the Speyside region of Scotland and rated at 55 PPM.

I am aware of only one Scotch Single Malt range which also uses peated barley from the Speyside region. This is Tomintoul’s Old Ballantruan Single Malts consisting of their NAS, 10-Year-Old and 15-Year-Old. Strangely, all the Old Ballantruan expressions are also rated at 55 PPM! How about that for a coincidence! Hmm…

Old Ballantruan 15

A word about Peat sources

Mainland Speyside peat delivers very different flavours to coastal peat (such as Islay or Orkney peat), with aromas and tastes roughly akin to having a barbeque in the forest, rather than on the beach by the sea. Mainland peat will give you aromas and flavours of burnt smoking twigs, tree moss and wood logs, as opposed to burnt seaweed, burnt engine oil and sea spray brine which are associated with coastal peat bogs.

Packaging

In general, I like the overall style and artwork. The dark brown, almost black box with the red flames licking the top, is quite striking. I have already spoken about the gold lion emblem of Yerushalmi distillery. I still like it. The inside of the box contains a section from an old map of Jerusalem in red and black. The box holds the bottle securely and is easy to open. All Good!

The bottle itself is a lovely design with that red map reproduced around the bottle neck, adding the final touches to a very well thought out and balanced design.

Large cork stoppers are in fashion at the moment and they add a touch of elegance to the product. However, the Yerushalmi cork stopper is extra wide but quite thin. It’s just my personal opinion but to me, it looks out of proportion. Because the wooden top of the cork stopper sticks out past the bottle opening so far, it causes the paper “TAX” label stuck over the cork to get torn easily. I love the artwork of the paper label on top of the stopper with its golden lion and Magen Davids. Really stylish!

The Name

I am not too keen however, on the name “Burnt Offering’. I realise that it draws a connection between peat smoke and the Temple in Jerusalem where animals were offered and burnt up. I must admit that I am being pedantic but technically, the “Korban Olah” or “Burnt Offering” was completely consumed on the mizbeach (alter) and not even the Kohanim were allowed to get any benefit from it. Whereas we certainly want benefit from drinking this lovely whisky!

The 55 PPM Postmark

As I have mentioned in my first Yerushalmi review, I just love that Victorian style Postmark stamp stating “PEATED 55 Parts Per Million” on the front label. This “Postmark” appears on the back as well. Strangely, the same information is repeated a third time in the back label text. In contrast, the fact that this is an internationally recognised legal “whisky” being that it’s over three years and in my opinion - a big deal, seems to have been overlooked in the label design.

At first glance there seems to be a lot of information on the front and back labels, but strangely is missing important data which we have come to expect from Golani/Yerushalmi.

I am not a fan of this “1 of 1150 Bottles” thing. Why not just say “Batch of 1150 Bottles” or such like. This “1” makes it look like this is bottle 1 of the batch, which it isn’t.

No Distillation Date

That same line which contains the Bottle amounts also states the Batch, which is No.1 and then the “Bottle Date” (or should it be “Bottled Date?) of 01/2023. What is missing however is the Distilled Date, which would tell us how many months this whisky had matured for. Indeed, there is no indication at all as to the age. It is only that I asked the owner who informed me that the whisky is just over three years old. So unfortunately, the lack of Distillation Date makes it a NAS (Non-Age Statement) expression, which is a shame.

The back label informs us that the whisky has been matured in Ex-Beer Barrels and Charred French Oak Wine Casks. (Are these STR casks? Probably).

The Tasting Experience

Appearance

The natural colour I would describe a bright honey gold and clearly illustrates the fact that maturation was in Charred French casks. Compare this to the colour of the Old Ballantruan where they openly admit the use of E150a Caramel colourant. That fake dark toffee tan conceals the true colour of the Ex-Bourbon barrels which the whisky has been matured in.

Friday night, after the Smoked Salmon (extra Smokey from Cohen’s in Machane Yehuda) and Gefilte Fish, I poured a glass of the “Burnt Offering” for everyone at the Shabbos table. I gave a Dvar Tora on the Parsha for about 10 minutes and then, just before the main course, we were ready to try the Yerulshami.

First, we tried it without water. 

Without Water

Now, as many of you would know, with whiskies bottled at more than minimum legal alcohol of 40%, I automatically add a few drops of water before I even put the glass to my nose. This I would say, is an absolute must if you are dealing with spirits which are over 50% abv. The Yerushalmi is the exception to the rule.

Aroma

On the nose, the first word that comes to mind is sophisticated. The nose is fully rounded and perfectly balanced. Sweet warm smoke with none of the pungency and brininess you would get from an island Scotch Whisky. Dark Raisins, Smokey BBQ tropical fruits. There is none of the typical peat aromas like burnt Engine oil and Wet Hay. Instead we have new Leather, the smell of inside a freshly drained Wine Cask, Smoked Honey, Smoked Strawberries, Dry Dates, cardamom, rosemary, wood-soaked red wine and hints of balsamic vinegar.

Despite its 55% abv, there is not a hint of nose alcohol pinch. However, I felt that even with all these wonderful aromas, this Burnt Offering was still holding back something.

Now I added water. Just a few drops, perhaps a quarter of a teaspoon. No more!

With Water

Wow! Wow! Wow!

The water has opened up  a whole new experience. Suddenly with those bursted alcohol molecules, it has resulted in a dominant aroma of Sweet chewy Peated Barley. The fruit is still there, but now we have an added layer of complexity.

Perfume Flowers. Red Roses after a rainfall. Breakfast Cereal bar. Malted Brand Flakes with honey, sugar coated almonds and vanilla milk.

Please don’t forget that this whisky is only a few months older than three years, yet there is no spirit burn or new spirit smell at all. This shows none of the frisky characteristics of a typical young Single Malt. On the contrary, it gives the impression that this whisky has been aged in quality oak casks for at least 15-20 years. I kid you not.

Now, sometimes, a heavy Charred barrel can be used to add a coat of caramelised toffee woodiness in order to hide the youthfulness (immaturity) of a whisky. (A perfect example being the Tomatin Legacy). But David Zibell has managed to perform some kind of magic as the aged character of this whisky is far more than a mere coating.

Leaving it to sit for about 15 minutes, I became aware of some interesting aromas of polished Brass, rather like the smell of polished antique Eastern European Brass Shabbos candlesticks.

Tasting

As much as I was enjoying all the aromas, it was time to taste this peated Single Malt, (despite its name indicating that we were forbidden to gain any benefit from this, except the aroma of the offering).

Holding the liquid in my mouth, it induced a flavour memory of a juicy steak, grilled in oak and garnished in red wine, honey and pineapple juice.

Ooh, I’ll tell you the main problem with this whisky. You’ll want to pour yourself another dram to continue your flavour exploration. It reaches 10 on the “More-ish” scale.

Finish

A medium to long finish leaving in the mouth, flavours of Crispy Beef Steak, Steak juice and Red Wine, Barley Cake, BBQ Strawberries, Raisins, honey, Rosemary, other Smokey Oak Spices.

Conclusions

As mentioned above, this is a very "More-ish" Single Malt Whisky. I could gladly spend the evening drinking a few glasses of this and not feel the need to switch to something else. It's just that kind of dram,

Those who enjoy their Peated Whisky will absolutely love this. For those strictly kosher Jewish Whisky Lovers, like me, who avoid all Sherried or Red Wine Finished Peated Single Malts such as Ardbeg Uigeadail, Lagavulin Distiller's Edition or Benromach Peat Smoke Sherry Cask Edition, this will be an absolute delight. The "Burnt Offering" now has a permanent place in my cocktail cabinet.

One of the many halachos (Jewish laws) which were enacted by the Rabbonim to remember the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash (The Temple) in Jerusalem (that is, the category of “Zecher l’Churban”) is when one builds a new house, he should leave a part of the wall, facing the entrance way, without plaster (Shulchan Aruch OC 560:1 and Mishna Berura Siman katan 4), or at the very least, not paint (Kovetz Ohr Yisroel 4, p. 89) a square portion of the wall, at least one amah by one amah. (See https://outorah.org/p/46054).

Now, I understand why they neglected to include the Distillation Date. That would have made the “Yerushalmi Burnt Offering” perfect and being that this whisky also acts as a reminder of the destruction of the Holy Temple in Yerushalayim (May, Be'ezras Hashem it be rebuilt in our days), they have also added their own tiny defect.