Milk & Honey New Make Single Malt 2018

Like many a new distillery, the upstart Milk & Honey from Israel – the land of… - also has a new make commercially in the market. It was originally sold in bottles of 50cl and cut to 50%, but since last year you can also get it in 70cl bottles, albeit cut down further to 40%. I quite liked the first one. Wonder what difference the second one will be like at bottom strength.

The nose offers up the typical notes that you might expect from new make, like sweet malt and cooked vegetables. But while the previous new make also had some raw potatoes and a sweet and sour note, this one is devoid of those notes. It is surprisingly soft and sweet with even a candy-like quality. Reminds me a bit of gin, in fact.

It’s a tad watery on the palate. It’s predecessor was more creamy. That must be the lower strength. Soft on the spices, somewhat sweet and dangerously quaffable. Lovers of mescal will be able to appreciate this, I venture.

The finish is short, sweet and very soft. Let’s not compare to a third white spirit, shall we?

Pleasantly quaffable and probably good in a cocktail, but has little to offer neat. Certainly not enough to warrant getting a bottle, but nice to compare to the whisky that will be released in 2019. The version at 50% was much more to my liking.