Whisky : Milk & Honey Classic Single Malt

Country/Region : Tel Aviv/Israel

ABV : 46%

Cask : Ex-Bourbon, STR Red Wine

Nose : Light and floral with a healthy dose of cereal sweet malt.  Tangy tangerines, oranges, honey, and a sweet marmalade.  Waxy citrus rinds, malty sourdough, and creamy overnight oats.  

Palate : Light body with a nice fruit and wax profile.  Sweet honey, persimmons, dried fruits, and salty nuts.  Malty notes build over time into honeyed sesame pastries, honey drenched fry-dough, and sopaipilla— which is really just more of the same.  More herbal notes, sage and oregano, surface on the backend along with some youthful spirit.

Finish :  Medium length sweet honey and dry fruits.

Score : 5

Mental Image : Moroccan Dessert Cart

Something Better : Glen Scotia Double Cask (similar fried dough, less fruit, more salt/sea)

Something Better : Longmorn 16Y (similar tangerine/fruits, more cereal, less herbal)

Something Similar : Arran 10Y (similar pastry and citrus, less astringency/wood)

Notes :  A really solid entry level malt from Milk & Honey.  I enjoyed the fruity-waxy profile and thought the maltiness of the spirit gave it nice depth.  Despite the high temperatures in Tel Aviv, the whisky was not overoaked or really tannic at all besides a nice bit of dryness on the finish.  It reminded me strongly of the Arran 10 or 14 and I found it scratched a pretty similar itch in terms of a mellow easy drinker.  Certainly this would be a friendly introduction to the charms of global single malts for anyone looking to explore the category.  It would also be great for side by side comparisons with ligher fruitier entry level scotch.  There was no mistaking that this was a bit on the young side— despite the hot climate driven high angel’s share and greater cask interaction— but it was well balanced so that the youthful spirit was not a distraction.  Overall, a great entry malt from M&H and one that leaves me excited to try some of the single casks that I have sitting around.