World Whisky Review #31: Single Cask Nation Milk & Honey 2 Year Jamaican Rum Barrel (2017)

Distillery: Milk & Honey

Bottler: Jewish Whisky Company

Region: Israel

Price: $10 for a 2 oz sample

ABV: 61.3%

Cask Type: First Fill Jamaican Rum

Cask Number: 0185

Age: 2 Year. Distilled in July 2017. Bottled in December 2019.

Color: 0.2, Pale Straw.

Nose: (according to the wife) Pretty straight forward with pineapple and honey being the main notes. It prickles a bit when you smell it.

Palate: Talk about heat, it’s incredibly hot and surprisingly bitter. There’s way too much ethanol for this to be really enjoyable. A bit of lemon zest pops up resulting a very citrusy cleaning solvent taste. Some waxiness is present as well. With water, that waxy lemon does becoming stronger but no matter how much water I seem to add, this whisky doesn’t stop burning and the pure ethanol is too much.

Finish: Long. Lemon zest with a bit of malt biscuit. And ethanol burn, burn that lasts way too long.

Conclusion: At 2 years, this Israeli single malt from Milk & Honey is the youngest age stated whisky I’ve reviewed. I have to say, I’m incredibly disappointed. The potential of the spirit seems to be there, I was reminded a lot of Clynelish in the notes that weren’t pure ethanol burn, but it simply hasn’t been given enough time to reach any of it. The rum cask doesn’t appear to have done much for this in the 2 years it was sitting as well, there’s none of that tropical fruit or sugary goodness that would help elevate this. Or perhaps it is there and the raw alcohol notes are so strong that I can’t pick them out. Leave it in the barrel for a few more years and I’d hazard to guess you’d have a far more drinkable product, but as it is I couldn’t finish my dram.

Final Score: 50.

World Whisky Review #31, Israeli Whisky Review #1, Whisky Network Review #254

Scoring Legend:

• 96-100: The perfect dram, nectar of the gods.
• 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky.
• 85-89: Amazing, will always try to keep a bottle of this in my collection (if feasible).
• 80-84: Very Good, maybe only one minor nitpick about the whisky keeping it here.
• 75-79: Good, quite enjoyable to drink.
• 70-74: Solid, wouldn’t go out of my way to get it.
• 60-69: Meh, still drinkable.
• Below 59: If you have a bottle of this, start cooking with it instead.