Independent Scotch Whisky Bottlers Available in Israel
Independent Scotch Whisky Bottlers Available in Israel
Ralfy Mitchel of YouTube channel "TheWhiskyBothy" (previously known as Ralfy.com), recently completed a series of four videos on his paid Patreon channel where he goes through a list of independent bottlers from A to Z, and comments on each one.
So, I thought it would be a good idea as a service to all you whisky fans here in Israel, to do a similar thing for Independent bottlers available in this country. Please note that my comments are from my own personal experience and not hearsay. If I don’t comment on a bottler, it means that I haven’t tried it yet.
Please let me know if I’ve missed out any bottlers and include the place where you can get them.
The shear variety of independent bottlers might seem rather daunting at first. So, for a good introduction to the wonderful world of Independent bottlers and why it's worth your while exploring this sector of the whisky universe, see my article on the Signatory Benrinnes 1996 bottling, where I go through the pros and cons of purchasing Single Malt whisky from Independent bottlers.
https://rebmordechaireviews.blogspot.com/2021/02/signatory-cask-strength-benrinnes-1996.html
Adelphi
Adelphi Distillery Ltd is owned by Donald Houston and Keith Falconer, and has its headquarters at Charlestown in Fife. Houston is actually the Laird (Scottish ancestral landowner), of the Ardnamurchan Estate in the West Highlands of Scotland, and it is on this land that they chose to build the now famous Ardnamurchan distillery.
I'd love to buy an Adelphi (or Ardnamurchan) bottling and you do see them in a couple of shops here in Israel, but they all tend to be either Ex-Sherry or a marriage of Ex-Sherry and Ex-Bourbon, so not suitable for the strictly kosher consumer. Whilst in Scotland back in June 2024, I bought an Ardnamurchan Single Rum Cask from the Inverurie Whisky shop, which I really enjoyed. It’s on my long list of whiskies to review.
Available in Israel from https://Sipil.co.il
Limited availability in Israel from Wine & Flavors https://wnf.co.il/whiskey
Asta Morris
Bert Bruyneel is the founder and owner of Asta Morris, a Belgian based independent bottler.
Available in Israel from https://vintage-whisky.com
Ben Eideann / Auchendores
These two brands belong to Israeli Independent Scotch Whisky bottler, businessman Yochi Toisig. The Ben Eidann range are bottled at 40% abv whereas the Auchendores range are bottled at 46% abv, are Non-Chill-Filtered and Natural Colour. His bottlings specialise in Kosher Wine Cask Finished Single Malts, matured in kosher wine casks which he himself exports to Scotland so that the distillery can re-rack their Ex-Bourbon barrel matured whisky in them for a typical period of 9 months to 2 years. Then the whisky is bottled and transported to Israel. Both brands are Badatz Eida Chareidis certified.
Only the highest standards of kashrus supervision are used in the production of these Single Malt whiskies. The Israeli wine casks are first sealed with custom duck tape with the word "Badatz" printed on the tape and then signed with the signature of the supervising mashgiach. The casks are then covered in clingfilm (plastic wrap) at the winery and then loaded onto lorries to be transported to Scotland. The sealed casks are met by Rabbonim in the UK who supervise the re-racking and then bottling on strictly kosher bottling plants in Scotland.
Both ranges would appeal to the more casual whisky drinker and/or the makpid whisky drinker who insists on the highest level of kashrus.
The Entry-Level Ben Eidann range are available in Israel from many Chareidi supermarkets and the Auchendores range from specialist wine stores in Chareidi neighbourhoods. You can find them in Yerushalayim at Alef Alef Piup, Ramat Eshkol as well as wine stores in the Ramot Canyon as well as in Geula.
Berry Bros & Rudd
Founded in 1698, Berry Bros. & Rudd is Britain’s oldest wine and spirits merchant and one of the UKs oldest continuously family run businesses. Not only that, but the company still trades from No.3 St James’s Street where it was first established (although their more spacious retail shop is now right around the corner, opposite St James’s Palace). They have been Wine Merchants to the Royal Family for most of this time and have three Royal warrants.
Berry Bros. & Rudd were one of only less than a handful of wine and spirits merchants where one could source Single Malt Whisky (known back then as "Pure Malt"), apart from actually going to a distillery in Scotland and buying a cask yourself. They have been offering a service whereby they purchase casks of all kinds of fine spirits like Brandy and Rum from all over the British Empire and then bottling them for their select few clients.
Likewise, for centuries they have been supplying Pure Malt Whisky such as Laphroaig, Lagavulin, The Glenlivet, Highland Park and Talisker as an exclusive super premium drink to the British Upper Classes, before almost everyone (with the exception of the Lairds of Scotland - the Scottish land owners, who have been drinking malt whisky, made locally by the tenants who lived on their lands, for centuries), had a taste for the "Pure Malt".
I've bought a couple of bottles of BB&R over the years but in both cases found the spirit to be very young, fiery and rough. They'd simply bottled the whisky too young IMO and that to me, indicates poor cask management. (But what do I know?)
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Moreover, I had a very negative experience when I visited their retail shop in London back in 2021. I found the staff patronising and snobbish, making assumptions about my whisky knowledge, I can only assume based on the way I was dressed, that is, as an Orthodox Jew.
Available in Israel from https://vintage-whisky.com
…and Derech HaYayin https://www.wineroute.co.il/
* "Bessie" refers to Elizabeth (Bessie) Leitch Williamson, who was the owner and Distillery Manager at Laphroaig from 1954 to 1972. She was one of Scotland's first female distillery managers and apparently was quite a character. She died in 1982 but is still fondly remembered by many Laphroaig whisky fans.
Blackadder
Founded and owned by Robin Tucek, a former British Television and Magazine journalist. The brand is named after historic Scottish figure Bishop John Blackadder. As far as I know, not connected to Rowan Atkinson, but I wouldn't be surprised that when Robin first put forward his plans, he couldn't help saying "I have a cunning plan".
Available in Israel from https://www.docwhisky.com/
Carn Mor (Cárn Mór)
The brand is owned by Morrison Scotch Whisky Distillers, owner of the new Aberargie Distillery in Perthshire in the Scottish Lowlands. The Morrisons are one of Scotland's oldest whisky families and owners of the Morrison chain of supermarkets.
It's wonderful to see Carn Mor (Morrisons) bottlings here in Israel. Everything I've bought from them has been good to great so far, so they are definitely on my list to buy from again. The last Carn Mor I bought was a Craigellachie Guyana Rum Cask. It was superb. This is one of the advantages of independent bottlings. The entire range of Craigellachie official bottlings contain at least some Ex-Sherry cask matured whisky. The same goes for Mortlach, Blair Athol and many others. So, it gives us kosher consumers a chance to sample the distillery’s house style by purchasing an independent bottling matured in Ex-Bourbon or in this case, Ex-Rum casks, which have no kashrus issues.
Available in Israel from https://Sipil.co.il
Claxton’s
A British based Independent bottler. Comes in a very distinctive box type bottle, reminiscent of Cognac.
Available in Israel from https://www.alphabetwhisky.com/
and Wine & Flavors https://wnf.co.il/whiskey
Compass Box
Founded by the famous (at least in the whisky world), and eccentric John Glaser, a Yank living in Scotland showing the Scots how to blend their own whisky. After establishing Compass Box as one of the premium brands of Independent Blended and Malt Blend Scotch whisky, he has recently stepped down as manager and sold his majority stake in the company to London-based investment group Caelum Capital.
There is a QR-Code printed on every bottle which will take you to a secret part of the Compass Box website and give you a complete breakdown of all casks used in the bottling. I am particularly fond of their Peat Monster, a Scotch Blended Malt. The graphics on the labels are all works of art.
Available in Israel from Wine & Flavors https://wnf.co.il/whiskey
Douglas Laing
(Not to be confused with Hunter Laing, Douglas’ brother). Inheriting the business from their father, they eventually split the company up into two, due to professional differences.
Their packaging is quite Victorian grandiose and OTT which I rather like, but their bottlings can be a bit hit and miss. For instance, I recently bought two bottles from their Old Particular series. The 15 YO Benrinnes was very expensive and very disappointing. Bland and forgettable. However, their "Probably Orkney's Finest" 12 YO was the best whisky I've had all year. An absolute beauty.
I like the way that they re-utilise the same bottle label, sticking it both on the bottle and on the cardboard tube, simply varying the colour and of course details of the whisky.
Available in Israel from https://Sipil.co.il
Dram Mor (Drám Mór)
Dram Mor is an independent Scotch Whisky Bottler & Broker based in Scotland.
Available in Israel from https://www.alphabetwhisky.com/
DS Tayman
DS Tayman are the independent bottling arm of Dalkeith Cask Brokerages, owned by the partnership of Saul Tayler and Danny Saltman. Hence "DS" for Danny and Saul, and Tayman as an amalgamation of their surnames.
Although their brokerage buys and sells all type of casks including Ex-Sherry, their DS Tayman independent bottlings are all Strictly Kosher and certified by no less than three hechsherim, namely the KLBD (London Beth Din), the OU and MKL (Rav Akiva Osher Padwa Shlit"a).
I've tried quite a few bottlings from them and they are all average to really good. They are all Natural Colour, Non-Chilled-Filtered and bottled at a very respectable 46% abv. They tend to be Aged 10-12 Years and standard Ex-Bourbon barrel matured with a few years Finished in a kosher wine cask, I believe all exclusively from Israeli wineries. The quality of the casks from Israel are usually of top quality but some of the finishes don't quite work for me, displaying only a thin wine coating. Perhaps they needed a few more years in the wine cask? Their Caol Ila 12 with Israeli Wine Cask Finish is particularly tasty and I'd consider buying that again. All the bottlings are very competitively priced.
Although in general, I like DS Tayman whisky, I think that their packaging is poorly designed and their artwork is utterly ridiculous and frankly cringeworthy.
Available in Israel from https://www.banamashkaot.co.il/
Duncan Taylor
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| I sampled this at a whisky festival in Israel. It was a fine version of Laphroaig but the price was too much for what it was. |
Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky Limited is a specialist independent Scottish whisky merchant with one of the largest privately held collections of aged single malt and single grain Scotch whisky casks in the world. They are situated in Huntly, Aberdeenshire in Scotland.
You can find Duncan Taylor products here in Israel but they are horrendously expensive and the lack of basic (in my opinion mandatory) information on the label is irritating to say the least.
There is absolutely no excuse for releasing a Single Cask bottling without stating which type cask it is. They simply write on all their labels: "Aged in Oak Casks". This statement is a complete waist of label real-estate as it tells us absolutely nothing as, according to the SWA regulations, Scotch Whisky can only be matured in Oak. It's just plain lazy and shows a lack of professionalism and respect for their customers. (in my opinion).
There is absolutely no excuse for an independent bottler who is selling whisky at this price range, not to state on the label, the single cask number, the number of bottles produced from that cask and the cask type, be it Ex-Sherry, Ex-Bourbon, First-Fill, Refill etc. (Distillation and Bottling dates would be nice as well).
Because of this, I won't be buying any Duncan Taylor products (bli neder), until they correct this serious issue. It's mammash a deal breaker for me.
Available in Israel from https://www.alphabetwhisky.com/
Elements Of Islay
See Single Malts of Scotland, Elixir Distillers.
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| I took the photo from their website. |
Yet another brand name from Elixir which bring you a selection of single malts from various Islay distilleries. I've never tried them but they look interesting. Coming from Elixir, they can't be bad.
Available in Israel from https://Sipil.co.il
Gordan & McPhail
Gordon & MacPhail is one of the oldest independent bottlers and distillers of Scotch Whisky, founded in 1895, where they set up a corner of their grocers shop on South Street in Elgin, selling their own Blended Whisky as well as bottles of whisky taken from casks from various malt distilleries. The company and specialist whisky shop are still located in Elgin in the north-east of Scotland. It is privately owned by the Urquhart Family.
Although I greatly appreciate their historic role in establishing Single Malt Whisky as a category of whisky in its own right, I have no time for G&M products. Everything I've ever bought from them in the past 20 years has been disappointing to awful. Because of the fame and variety of bottles from rare distilleries, I was always retrying them, hoping to strike lucky. The last bottle I bought was 2016. Never again.
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| I love Caol Ila but this version was very disappointing. |
The point is mute now, as G&M have just announced that they are ceasing their independent bottling side of the business after almost 130 years of bottling Single Malt Whisky, in order to concentrate on developing their distilleries, namely Benromach in Speyside and the building of a brand-new distillery so far unnamed. It will be situated in the Cairngorms National Park area and will be built on the banks of the River Spey at Craggan, near Grantown-on-Spey.
Still available (for now) in Israel from Y.D Online https://www.yd1986.co.il/
Hunter Laing
Hunter Laing is available in Israel but whereas in the UK, it’s considered a budget independent bottler, here it has a RRP around 80% more expensive than in the Britain. I've never bought anything from them. I don't know if it's the Israeli importer or Hunter Laing themselves who are responsible for the outrageous price, but I don’t suppose it matters. Take for instance, their Scarabus NAS Islay Single Malt available for sale at Bana Mashkaot. Whereas it’s £38 in the UK, it’s a whopping £67 (NIS 320) here in Israel.
Incidentally, the Scarabus brand artwork and packaging is no doubt designed to look similar to the Laphroaig 10, but the whisky actually comes from Caol Ila distillery.
Available in Israel from https://www.banamashkaot.co.il/
Lady Of The Glen
Lady of the Glen is the brand name of Hannah Whisky Merchants ltd, a privately owned independent bottler of Scotch Whisky based in Dunfermline, Scotland. I have never tried anything from this company but Ralfy Mitchel holds their produce in very high regard. So, it deserves a try at some point.
Available in Israel from https://www.alphabetwhisky.com/
Mac-Talla (Morrison)
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| Photo taken from their website |
Available in Israel from https://Sipil.co.il
North Star
(From their website:) "North Star Spirits: Glasgow's Premier Independent Whisky Bottling Company. Established in 2016 by Iain Croucher".
They mainly specialise in Single Malts and Malt Blends. They seem to have a very high reputation amongst whisky enthusiasts although I personally have never tried any of their products. I think the supermarket product like labels (IMO), has alway put me off.
Available in Israel from Wine & Flavors https://wnf.co.il/whiskey
Port Askaig – Elixir Distillers
See Single Malts of Scotland, Elixir Distillers.
Port Askaig whisky is generally known to come from Caol Ila distillery on Islay, Port Askaig being the name of the port where Caol Ila is situated and one of two places where you'll arrive on the island. Port Askaig is on the North-East of the island and the other one, Port Ellen is on the south of the island.
There are quite a few people on various whisky forums who claim that the whisky actually comes from Bunnahabhain distillery (also near Port Askaig), but in my opinion, they are mistaken. First of all, Bunnahabhain almost always produces non-peated malt whisky and these expressions are most definitely peated. Secondly, I think I know BBQ Lemon house-style of Caol Ila when I taste it!
As far as I know, only the Port Askaig 8-Year-Old and the 17-Year-Old are 100% Ex-Bourbon matured and therefore suitable for the strictly kosher consumer. I have a bottle of the 17-Year-Old and can say that it’s probably the finest Caol Ila I’ve ever tasted! I have as yet not tried the 8-Year-Old but it’s being sold at a very reasonable price at the Whisky Embassy shop in Herzliya (the new outlet for Sipil), and I’ve have heard good things about it, so it’s on my shortlist.
Available in Israel from https://Sipil.co.il
Rest And Be Thankful Whisky Co.
This weird company title is actually the brand name of the Independent bottler of fine spirits business, established in 2010 by the Fox Fitzgerald Whisky Co. Ltd., a UK based company who up until that time had mainly been a marketing company, specialising as Scotch Whisky (and other type spirits), brand creators.
Available in Israel from https://www.alphabetwhisky.com/
Signatory
The Signatory company owns Edradour distillery, or is it the other way round, I can never remember. It always confuses me when Signatory release bottles of Edradour. Are they counted as independent bottlings or official bottlings? It makes your head spin.
I’ve bought quite a few bottles from this famous and well-respected independent bottler. Strangely, they don’t have an online store in the UK. If you try searching for it you only get to Signatoryusa.com, the USA site, where they are selling different releases to the ones we get in Israel as well as the one which are available in the UK. (By the way, when I contacted them at the US website, I got chatting with a lovely Jewish chap who was very helpful).
Quality is always high, ranging from fair to outstanding. You cannot really go wrong buying a bottle from Signatory. Highlights for me are their Cask Strength Series, with their cork stoppers being the biggest in the industry. I’ve had Mortlach and Caol Ila from the Cask Strength Series and they have all been very tasty. However, their Benrinnes 23 and 24 YO releases, while extremely expensive, are simply stunning, and in my opinion, are some of the finest Single Malts on the market today.
Single Cask Nation
Thes first few releases had illustrations of young Modern-Orthodox Jewish life on their labels such as a couple on a shidduch or a yeshivah student with long tzittis hanging from his trousers, sitting enjoying a dram.
Although (according to their website), all their whisky club meetings serve only Glatt Kosher food, it is clear that Joshua and Jason apparently hold by the most lenient position when it comes to whisky kashrus issues, and there was some considerable controversy when they started bottling Ex-Sherry cask matured Single Malt under the “Jewish Whisky Club” label, clearly aimed at the frum community.
I believe (but I could be wrong), that all their products are now under the brand name “Single Cask Nation”.
I have never bought any of their products and won't be doing so in the foreseeable future due to their (in my opinion) cavalier attitude when it comes to whisky kashrus issues, whereby they continue to ignore the AKO - Association of Kashrus Organisation’s recommendation to the kosher consumer to avoid Single Malt whisky matured exclusively or finished in active Ex-Sherry casks. Again, this is just my personal opinion.
Available from https://vintage-whisky.com
Single Malts of Scotland – Elixir Distillers
Owned by Elixir Distillers, new owners of Tormore distillery. They have also built what is the latest newest distillery on Islay, Port-n-truan. Apart from Elixir, they also own a number of other brands including the excellent Port Askaig and Elements of Islay.
The company is owned by the Singh brothers who used to own The Whisky Exchange online Whisky store but sold it to Pernod Ricard in 2023 in order to concentrate on their distilleries.
You can find "The Single Malts of Scotland-The Parcel Series" here in Israel. I've bought three in their series and all three were absolutely excellent. Of particular note was the Clynelish 8 YO Parcel No.2 which was quite exceptional. I can still taste it now. Pineapple and Vanilla ice cream.
Available in Israel from https://Sipil.co.il
That Boutique-y Whisky Company – TBWC
Another Independent Bottler with a great sense of humour and wonderfully quirky and creative artwork on the label by Glasgow based artist, Emily Chappell. Based in Tonbridge, Kent in England, and founded by a group of fanatical Whisky enthusiasts in 2012, their company moto is never to take yourselves too seriously.
I tried two of their releases in the UK. The bottles belonged to my father who had bought them at the local farm shop. One was an Ardmore and the other was an unnamed Islay. Although the label was lovely, I was not too impressed with the lack of bottle details on the label. They don’t always state the cask type so it’s sometimes impossible to know the Kashrus status. Both of the bottles my father had however did state the cask type and were absolutely fantastic. Full flavoured and very Moorish. I’d seriously consider buying a bottle here in Israel.
Available in Israel from Y.D. Online https://www.yd1986.co.il/
The Single Cask
An Independent Bottler based in the UK. Not to be confused with the American company, The Single Cask Nation.
Available in Israel from https://www.alphabetwhisky.com/
WM Cadenhead
Cadenhead's or to be more accurate - "WM Cadenhead's" (notice the position of the apostrophe) Wine and Spirit Merchants was established in Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1842. It remained in the same family for 130 years until being bought by Campbeltown firm of J & A Mitchell & Co. Ltd, owners of Springbank and Glengyle (Kilkerran) Distilleries in 1969.
Cadenhead's is credited as being the first company to bottle and retail Single Malt Whisky (that is, Malt Whisky made in a single distillery), on a regular basis.
I’ve bought three bottles here in Israel and one very expensive one at the world famous Cadenhead shop in Campbeltown. All four bottles showed clear signs of being matured in poor quality old tired out casks. I regret having purchased them. It has certainly put me off the brand and I can’t see myself buying anything from them in the foreseeable future.
https://shop.whiskeybm.co.il/shop/whiskey
ReplyDeleteyashikawebdesigninghouse left a new comment on my post
For 'Independent Scotch Whisky Bottlers Available in Israel':
Unfortunately he also embedded a promotional link which I will not allow,. However, reading his comment, it certainly doesn't look like an automatically generated Spam message (unless he's employed an AI algorithm to datamine the content and create a meaningful message), so I've decided to reproduce his comment but stripped the link from his message.
"I appreciate how you’ve broken down each bottler with your personal experiences. It’s refreshing to see an unbiased perspective on Israeli whisky offerings!"