Whisky Live Tel-Aviv 2018 is starting tomorrow. I already reviewed the special show bottling (a 37 yo Port Ellen), but there are a few more interesting new releases for the Whisky Live show and the first one is the second single malt whisky from Milk and Honey Distillery.

The Milk and Honey distillery released their first single malt whisky in 2017 and now the distillery releases it’s second one for Whisky Live 2018, both whiskies bottled by the distillery under the Experimental casks series brand.

What are those experimental casks? It’s quite simple. A few casks were distilled back in 2014 at the beginning of the road for the distillery, from before there was a permanent location and before most of the equipment was installed. The distillery’s master distiller Tomer Goren distilled those different casks, with the help of the late Dr. Jim Swan (The distillery adviser), in order to play and find out how different new makes will behave and develop in our climate.

This specific cask (cask 2014-0002) was distilled in April 2014 from a lightly peated malt (using local peat source!) and bottled in November 2017 after 43 months. The whisky spent its first 32 months in a virgin oak (american oak) cask and then was finished for additional 11 months in ex-bourbon cask in the distillery warehouse in Tel-Aviv.

A total of 324 bottles (500 ml) were made from this cask and it’s will be available to purchase at Whisky Live Tel-Aviv 2018 this coming Wednesday and Thursday.

Milk and Honey Experimental Cask #2, Lightly Peated (46%, 449NIS/~$130)

Nose: Sweet, slightly smoky, pears and a bit of apricot, fresh oak spices, vanilla, gentle maltiness and white pepper. Rounded and mellow, feels way older than 3 years old (local climate works its wonder).

Palate: Peat(ier), smoke, pears and lemon, dried coconut, sweet oak, dryness, ash flakes, more peat than on the nose.

Finish: Medium long length, sweet vanilla, creamed pears, pepper, wood spices and lingering peat smoke.

Thoughts: A very pleasant surprise! The whisky is matured for its age and seems like the combo of local peat and fast ageing in active casks in our climate results in a is tasty and highly drinkable whisky. I have high hopes for the official releases coming from the distillery.