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When thinking of a location to build a distillery, the hot Mediterranean coast of Israel would not be top of the list. But for a group of entrepreneurs who called it home, they imagined that the fertile lands of milk and honey would be the perfect place to start their whisky adventure.

Milk & Honey Distillery was founded in 2014 by Tomer Goren, Head Distiller, (though the business side was set up in 2012) and situated in a neighbourhood near the capital of Tel Aviv, they utilised all the information they could from Scotland and combined it with the natural hot climate of Israel to create a single malt whisky that was unique but still rooted in tradition. As of 2021 they have rebranded to just M&H Distillery.

They boast all the same modern distilling amenities found in Scottish distilleries and a minimum 3 year age statement, but the maturation of their whisky focuses on taking advantage of the many sunny and warm days offered by their exceptional location.

Like Kavalan distillery in the equally unusual climate of Taiwan, M&H Distillery was influenced and assisted by the late Dr Jim Swan. Dr Swan was a respected personality in the Scotch whisky industry, lending his chemistry knowledge and expertise to many distilleries in his time, including Kilchoman, Penderyn, Kavalan and of course M&H. He is best known in whisky lover circles for his pioneering coopering method of STR (short for shaved, toasted and re-charred) on red wine casks. This process involves shaving the wooden staves down, toasting the barrels and then turning up the heat to char them in order to maximise the flavours from the wood sugars and these casks are very well suited to being used in hot climates that force the spirit into the wood during maturation. Before this method was developed these red wine casks were often viewed as exhausted, but Dr Jim Swan’s technique breathed new life into these barrels and started a trend in the whisky industry that was quickly adopted and became his greatest legacy after his passing in 2017.

M&H distillery primarily uses a combination of these STR red wine casks, along with ex-bourbon and some virgin oak barrels for their single malts, with some experimental casks as well such as Rum, beer, ex-Islay, and even Pomegranate wine casks. Some of their red wine casks are from Europe but others are sourced locally, from the surprisingly excellent array of wineries in Israel making Merlot, Syrah, and Carignan styles. In keeping with their connection to their homelands, all the products made at M&H distillery (including various styles of gin) are kosher, a unique claim for a whisky.

While the location and climate are a far cry from the brisk and chilly Scotland, the distillery is very much produced in a similar style with a focus on making single malt expressions, and they have even produced peated varieties. They source their peat from Scotland because thanks to massive projects in terraforming and draining local swamplands in the 60s, there is no more peat in Israel. There are currently programs and campaigns to re-flood the drained areas and return the habitats to their original ecological state, but it will be many decades before M&H will have access to locally sourced peat bogs. So in the meantime, their peated malt is distinctly Scottish and malted to the 40ppm standard in most Islay distilleries. Currently their production is mainly focused on their unpeated malt, with peated spirit only being produced a few weeks out of the year.

When M&H was first founded, they dedicated themselves to making a high-quality whisky to rival those being produced all over the world, and a slew of awards have followed since releasing their first expression in 2018. Most recently they added a series of awards, including Brand Innovator of the Year 2022, World Whisky Brand Ambassador of the Year 2022, Craft Producer of the Year 2022 and 2021 and Master Distiller/Master Blender of the year 2022 to their cabinet of accolades from the Whisky Magazine's Icons of Whisky Awards. A growing number of their whiskies have also been awarded World Whisky Awards in multiple caterogies.

Now Australia is getting a glimpse into some of the stellar single casks quietly maturing at the distillery with the M&H Peated STR cask bottled for The Whisky Show. Traditionally peated and matured solely in an STR Portuguese red wine barrel, this expression showcases two of the standout styles being produced at the distillery perfectly balanced together and bottled at cask strength.

Grab a bottle of this Australian exclusive bottling M&H here.