Many innovations have originated in Israel, but whisky isn’t one that immediately comes to mind in the land of milk and honey. However, when the World Whiskies Awards announced the achievement of the World’s Best Single Malt last month, the winner was none other than Israel’s aptly named Milk & Honey Distillery (M&H Distillery).
M&H Distillery is Israel’s first whisky distillery to date, and was started in 2013. However, it began selling internationally only in 2019.
This particular award went to M&H’s Sherry Cask from its Elements series, which is described as having notes of red fruit and dark chocolate, finished with notes of tobacco and oak.
The coveted title was just one of eight awards that M&H Distillery took home from the event on 30 March. It received seven other awards including Craft Producer of the Year and Brand Innovator of the Year (within the Rest of the World category). The company has previously been recognised at the Frankfurt International Trophy 2022 and the 2022 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Head Distiller Tomer Goren said in an interview with Forbes magazine that what makes their expression unique is that “we make our Elements sherry like old style sherry whisky; it’s not a sherry bomb but a balanced whisky”.
It all started when a group of young, whisky-loving Israeli entrepreneurs decided that there was no reason not to realise their dream of creating an Israeli single malt. Tech expert Gal Kalkshtein, who had apparently already tried his hand at making his own beer in his home, made it his mission.
“I started to learn about the whisky world and culture. It’s amazing and full of tastes. I fell in love, and decided to open a distillery,” he told Whisky Magazine.
They took over the premises of a bakery in the heart of Tel Aviv, the heart of the culinary and alcohol industry of Israel, and began building in June 2014 and distilling less than a year later.
“Who would’ve thought of a whisky distillery in Israel? Everybody thought it was crazy, but our founder, Gal Kalkshtein, decided that he could do it even when people told him otherwise,” said Dana Baran, the vice-president of marketing at M&H Distillery.
After founding the distillery, Kalkshtein took on board Head Distiller Goren, and sought out Dr James Swan, a world-renowned whisky expert, as consultant. Swan (who passed away in 2017) consulted many distilleries around the world, but his expertise was distilling in hot climates. The distillery has just celebrated its 10th anniversary.
High temperatures aren’t known to be ideal for whisky production, Goren told Whisky Magazine, but “we use weather to our advantage”. He buys casks from around the world to challenge or stress test his numerous experiments, currently finding second fill to be a good balance in the heat.
Said Baran, “The Israeli climate is, in fact, one of the secrets to our whisky. Because it’s very hot and humid, it helps with fast maturation and the extraction of flavours.
“The climate also allows us to experiment,” she said, explaining that the speed of maturation allows them to explore innovation within the boundaries of scotch whisky with relatively quick results. “We put a lot of love and dedication into making our whisky, which I think has to do with the Israeli spirit as well.”
Goren’s dedication to the product has him starting work at 06:00 and working until late. He describes M&H’s whisky as “Just what I like, what I think good whisky should be, just drinkable!”
Kalkshtein, however, maintains that if his whisky were a person, it would be Superman because “I want my whisky to be perfect,” he told Whisky Magazine
The team don’t believe in taking no for an answer. “We can do anything, but just don’t know how yet,” Kalkshtein told the magazine, and this sentiment is evident in what this small start-up has achieved in such a short time. When Goren had the need to monitor the volume of spirit in each cask with ease, Kalkshtein invented a sonar-based device to fit into each cask bung, according to Whisky Magazine.
In May 2017, they unveiled Israel’s first single malt whisky (after undergoing the standard more than three years of maturation). Their first commercial whisky was released at the end of 2019. Baran said the start of the COVID-19 pandemic shortly after their release meant that a lot of events and tastings were held over Zoom. Nonetheless, they managed to launch to the global market, and are now selling more than 100 000 bottles annually to more than 40 countries worldwide.
The title of Best Single Malt is “a huge recognition of what we do”, Baran said. Their dream has always been to stand proudly alongside international brands, which this accolade allows them to do. “What’s also amazing is that the Elements Sherry Cask is one of our core-range whiskies. The whiskies that typically win this prize are limited special edition,” she said. “Because it’s part of our core range, it always needs to be on the shelf, and sales have now increased tremendously.”
All the company’s whiskies are kosher, and they are the first distillery to produce whisky in kosher sherry casks. Their casks are sourced from a bodega in Spain, and approved by a rabbi.
Their whiskies, including the award-winning Sherry Cask, are distributed in South Africa by Universal Beverages.
