Israeli whiskey company Milk & Honey (M&H) has been awarded the title of ‘world’s best single malt’ by The World Drinks Awards.
The World Drinks Awards described the drink as having “Fruity aromas of citrus zest and white peach with a dash of wood varnish. Sweet to the taste with a weighty mouthfeel, this whisky has flavours of golden syrup, vanilla, tropical fruit and iced tea, before a finish of oak tannins with hints of anise and lemon peel.”
Despite misconceptions that the whiskey should be from a single barrel, single malt whisky is a whisky that is produced by a single distillery, according to Kilchoman distillery.
"To be considered a single malt scotch, the whisky must be distilled from a mash bill of 100 percent malted barley at one distillery and aged for a minimum of three years in wooden casks" according to Liquor.com
Milk & Honey distillery
M&H was founded in 2013 by Gal Kalkstein and became the first Whiskey distillery in Israel. All the products the distillery produces are kosher.
The Tel Aviv-based distillery has declared that the Israeli climate is the secret to its success.
“Israel’s 300 sunny days in an average year and the Mediterranean climate are our greatest advantage. Hot climate maturation means that our whisky ages rapidly, yet significantly gracefully. Whisky made in warmer weather takes on specific terroir which yields unique flavors that somewhat differ from their Old-World counterparts. Our methods, technique and equipment carry on centuries-old knowledge and we keep the tradition of minimum three years of aging,” the M&H website states.
This is not the distillery’s first award, they received eight awards for their quality whiskey in the World Whiskies Awards. The company won a number of titles under the "Rest of the World" category. They achieved the status of "Craft Producer of the Year," "Brand Innovator of the Year," and "Master Distiller of the Year."
Additionally, M&H won the APEX Dead Sea at the Frankfurt International Trophy 2022, as well as two gold medals at the 2022 San Francisco World Spirits Competition for the Elements Sherry and Elements Peated.
The whiskey is sold in 40 countries worldwide.