Recently I reviewed the M&H Founders Edition and remarked at the first official core line-up whisky will be here before 2019 ends. And here it is – M&H Classic has already hit the shelves locally in Israel and will be available in Europe next month and in the USA later in 2020.

The distillery also plans to release a new series of whiskies called Elements with the first member being M&H Elements Sherry Cask to be released in Q2 2020 and future members (Red wine cask and Peated cask) to be released in Q3 2020.

But let’s get back to the M&H Classic – Based on the plans set up years ago by the Distillery team (led by Tomer Goren the master distiller) and the late Dr. Jim Swan, the selected recipe for the Classic edition is a combination of Ex-Bourbon casks with Red Wine STR (Stripped, Toasted and Recharred) Casks.

M&H Classic is bottled at 46% and costs 199NIS (Although I’ve seen it for 189NIS in some shops) and should cost around €50 in Europe and $65 for 750ml version in the USA once it hits the shelves there.

M&H Classic (46%, 199NIS/€50/$65)

Nose: Clean, fresh and subtly sweet. There’s honey, gentle red grapes and red wine tannins, a hefty dose of vanilla, some earthy tone (dry earth and a touch of nutmeg) that adds some surprising depth, white pepper, – all in all a very rich nose despite the young age. After a few minutes there are some fresh floral side (floral wine) to the sweetness, quite a good balance between the Ex-Bourbon and STR casks.

Palate: Mildly sweet, spicy with white pepper and earthy nuttiness, soft cereals notes of bread bakery, caramel, vanilla and honey, soft wine tannins and red fruits in the background, good texture and body.

Finish: Short medium length. A very pleasant sweetness, lingering soft pepper spice, caramel, honey and red wine tannins.

Thoughts: For a first whisky it’s a very good expression. The combination of Ex-Bourbon and STR Wine casks at Tel-Aviv hot and humid weather delivers here a nice and pleasant whisky even at 3 years old. It’s an easy drinker and I’m sure many will like it.