Over the course of two nights, the Malt Nuts and the SCWC joined forces with the Milk and Honey distillery to taste through a massive chunk of what they’ve released to-date. There are some indies, early releases and small releases we didn’t have, but on the whole, we covered a large chunk of what’s been available in the US market.
If you’re not familiar with Milk & Honey, I’ll give you the two-second rundown: it’s Israel’s first, and only, whisky distillery. They focus on single malts done according to the Scottish tradition and was one of the late Dr. Jim Swan’s last projects. Everything from the lower barrel entry proof to the use of STR casks to young whisky tasting fantastic have his fingerprints all over it. This was a Jim Swan project to the T.
Everything M&H releases is roughly between 4-5 years old, with some being as young as 3, but they taste more mature due to the hot climate the barrels mature in. Everything I just mentioned is why this tasting was so interesting to us. Both groups, which have a heavy overlap, wanted to deep dive into another Swan project, see how it turned out and how the climate interacted with the wood and the spirit.
The first night was the SCWC, the second was the Malt Nuts. The photos and notes are a mix of the two nights. And with that, let’s dig in!
Milk & Honey Classic: 46% – ex-Bourbon, Red Wine STR
Nose: Fruity, honied malt, graham and cocoa.
Palate: Caramel sweet, malt, fruit and slight candy sweetness.
Finish: Medium -> Soft, sweet, fruity and malty.
Overall: (2.5 / 5) Not bad, in fact it’s kinda tasty. It’s light, not super complex, but nothing wrong with it.
Milk & Honey Elements – Red Wine Cask: 46% – ex-Bourbon, ex-Red Wine
Nose: Fruity, malty, graham, frosting, fresh pastry.
Palate: Sweet wine, pastry, malty, dried fruit and a tad tannic.
Finish: Medium -> Soft and fruity pastry.
Overall: (3 / 5) Nice. Warm and fruity with a solid maltiness and a touch of wine sweetness.
Milk & Honey Elements – Sherry Cask: 46% – ex-Bourbon, ex-PX, ex-Oloroso
Nose: Honied fruit, graham, cocoa, malty sweetness, leather and citrus, a bit nutty.
Palate: Dried fruit, honey graham, strawberry shortcake, leather and Tootsie rolls.
Finish: Medium -> Dried strawberries and graham.
Overall: (3 / 5) Also nice. Sweet, easy and fun. I’d drink this again no problem.
Milk & Honey Elements – Peated: 46% – ex-Bourbon, ex-Islay
Nose: Apples, honied graham and touches of smoke and mustiness with a spirity essence
Palate: Apples, honied graham, vanilla and touches of smoke and mustiness and a bit spirity overall.
Finish: Medium -> Smoke and mint.
Overall: (2 / 5) A combination of peated and un-peated whisky aged in an ex-islay cask resulted in very little peat, but a spirity sip.
Milk & Honey #1 Dad 3 Years (18-21): 55% – ex-Bourbon
Nose: Banana Quik, malt, fruit, char and caramel.
Palate: Toffee, olde candy, dates, dried fruit and bananas.
Finish: Medium -> Spice, char and fruit with a touch of oak.
Overall: (3.5 / 5) Wow… this one really stands out. I like it. Warm and tasty, it’s one I grabbed another pour of at the end of the night.
Milk & Honey Apex – Fort. Red Wine Casks 4 Years (17-21): 60.4% – ex-Fortified Red Wine
Nose: Grapey sweet, vanilla, caramel, copper and spice with a touch of “trail mix”.
Palate: Metallic and malty with an unintegrated wine taste and some spice and “trail mix”
Finish: Medium -> Metal and malt with a touch of grapey sweetness.
Overall: (2 / 5) Not liking, but not hating either… I want more of that #1 Dad.
Impex Collection Milk & Honey 3 Years (17-20): 58.9% – ex-Bourbon, ex-PX
Nose: Citrus, malt, fruit, PX sweetness, honey and nuts.
Palate: Citrus, malt, olde candy, fruit, PX sweetness, copper, honey and nuts.
Finish: Long -> Sweet, malty and fruity.
Overall: (3.5 / 5) Damn, this is nice. Rich, sweet and fruity with a light malty earthy kick.
Milk & Honey New Make: 50%
Nose: Minerally spirit with a slight bit of fruit and vanilla.
Palate: Minerally spirit with a slight bit of fruit and vanilla.
Finish: Short -> Minerally spirit with a slight bit of fruit and vanilla.
Overall: (NA / 5) Clean, warm and really a nice spirit. When I mentioned “spirity” in the Peated, this is what was showing through and not well integrating with the oak. On its own it’s not terrible, but not something I’d actively reach for either.
Milk & Honey Whisky In Bloom Lightly Peated: 46% – STR, ex-Bourbon, ex-Islay
Nose: Spirity banana pudding with a bit of caramel.
Palate: Spirity banana pudding with a bit of caramel.
Finish: Short -> Spirity banana pudding with a bit of caramel.
Overall: (1.5 / 5) It was fun to see where the whisky started (before they called it whisky) and see how it tastes at a younger age.
Milk & Honey Apex – Dead Sea 3 years (18-21): 56.2% – ex-Bourbon
Nose: Butterscotch, honey, char, earth, oak and vanilla with touches of dried fruit.
Palate: Butterscotch, malt, honey, char, earth, oak and vanilla fondant with touches of dried fruit.
Finish: Medium-long -> Toffee and fruit with a bit of oak.
Overall: (3.5 / 5) Another super interesting and fun cask that showed how changing the location of a whisky can make big shifts in the end profile.
Single Cask Nation Milk & Honey 3 Years: 59.3%
Nose: Banana cream pie, oat, char, milk chocolate and dried fruit.
Palate: Banana cream pie, oat, baking spice, char, milk chocolate and dried fruit with an herbal touch.
Finish: Medium-long -> Malty, oaky and a bit citrusy with some baking spice.
Overall: (3 / 5) As it opens a slight nuttiness shows up, but in all, it stays very nice.
Milk & Honey Apex – Pomegranate Wine Cask 3 Years (17-20): 60.3% – ex-Pomegranate Wine
Nose: FRUITY, some sweet pastry notes, candy and some maltiness with a bit of baking spice.
Palate: FRUITY, sweet pastry, old candy, char, honey graham and maltiness with a touch of spice.
Finish: Medium-long -> Dried dark fruit with some honey graham.
Overall: (3.5 / 5) It’s almost juicy with the way the fruitiness is delivered. Unique and tasty.
Milk & Honey Cognac Cask 3 Years (17-21): 58.8% – ex-Cognac
Nose: Grapey, leathery, fruity, malty and nutty with light notes of cocoa, vanilla pod, baking spice and bubblegum.
Palate: BAKING SPICE! Grapey sweetness, leather, nuts, dried fruit, cocoa, and some oak.
Finish: Medium-Long -> Baking spice (clove and cinnamon heavy), orange peels, and a bit of vanilla and oak.
Overall: (3.5 / 5) I debated giving it a 4 (consider it a 3.75), but this is something else. Without a doubt, it’s my favorite thing they’ve done and it perfectly balances everything that ‘s going on in the glass.
There were some duds, there were some tasty whiskies and there was a lot in between. But the most important thing to note is that it was all educational. Both nights were a blast and we now have a better understanding of what kind of whisky Isreal is pumping out right now, and I hope you do too.
Cheers!
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