"Until recently, the world of whiskey consisted of a few individual whiskey countries, the main ones being: Scotland, Ireland, the USA and Canada,"
explains Gal Kalkstein, founder and CEO of Israel's largest and oldest distillery M&H (Milk & Honey).
"In recent years, countries have begun to gain recognition More that produce whiskey, including: New Zealand, Taiwan and also Israel.
They are considered the countries of the New World."
And, in case you were wondering, in the field of whiskey Israel is doing well -
M&H recently picked up a chain of eight titles in the prestigious and most important whiskey competition in the world held every year in England, the Icons of Whiskey World Whiskey Award for 2023.
"When we established the distillery, no one believed that it was possible to establish a distillery in Israel, says Kalkstein and adds: "They said about me: 'crazy', 'stupid', 'throwing money'.
But we set a goal to penetrate the international market.
Since then, many more amazing distilleries have sprung up."
Gal Kalkstein, photo: Dor Abrahami
What trends are happening today in the attitude of the Israeli public to drinking whiskey?
"There has been a very large increase in the consumption of whiskey in recent years. Whiskey has become more liquid and accessible to the Israeli public, partly because of a drop in prices. That's why even high-quality whiskey today enters almost every home and people come to whiskey events. I'm very happy that this is happening, because it's a culture, a culture which ultimately accompanies the Jewish people."
Guy Bliss, CEO of "Anutka", an alcohol import company owned by the Hinawi George family. He explains to us how to taste whiskey professionally. The Hinawi
Wine & More chain started celebrating the International Whiskey Day that fell on March 27, a month earlier. As part of it, all branches of the chain are offering special deals on various brands until February 27, and on February 23-24, a blind tasting competition will be held with prizes for the audience in some branches. "When it comes to tasting alcohol, we always try to combine three main senses: sight, smell and taste" , he explains and details:
The first organ we will use to taste whiskey is actually the eyes
"Before we drink, we always look at the color. Whiskey is a product whose color is affected by its aging processes. During the initial distillation process, it can appear colorless - a white distillate like vodka. It begins to acquire the color during the aging process in barrels. The color of the whiskey tells us about the process it went through. Colors Deep, amber whiskeys indicate a drink that has received many more barrel flavors. The whiskey aging process allows all the ingredients and flavors in it to connect, so the longer a whiskey is aged it will have duller colors. Relatively young blends will usually have very intense colors, because they have not been aged A process of long aging and less bonding. In terms of taste, this type of whiskey will also be less round in taste and feeling."
Old World Whiskey, photo: Foreign Relations
Smells of burnt wood, peat soil and smoking
"When sniffing an alcoholic drink, we put our nose to the side of the glass and open our mouth as well. That way we also get the true aromas of the drink. Usually, the first thing that evaporates will be the alcohol. In order not to get just the alcohol, there is a school of thought that recommends distilling the drink with a few drops of water And I will expand on that later. Each whiskey brings its own aromas - from the American barbarians we will get much sweeter aromas of honey and vanilla. In whiskey from the "smoky" regions, such as, for example, the "Doe" region and the Western Isles in Scotland, we will get smells of burnt wood, peat soil (where the barley grows) and of smoking. Scotch whiskey that comes from the Speyside region, where we find most of the well-known distilleries, including Glenfiddich or Glenmorangie, will smell the characteristics of this region - of the soil, the water and the style chosen by the distillers. There they use more sherry casks, For example, and with long aging, that's why fruity aromas are obtained in the drink."
It is not recommended to add ice, photo: GettyImages
It is important to let the whiskey touch all parts of the mouth
"We want to taste the whiskey at room temperature," says Bliss and adds: "That's why I always recommend mixing it with a few drops of water and not necessarily adding ice. Take a spoon, put some water in it, swirl the drink a little in the glass and taste it several times. This is an addition that opens the drink and releases the aromas. It is important to let the whiskey touch all parts of the mouth. While it is in the mouth, open the mouth and let some air in, helps to strengthen the flavors and aromas. If a whiskey is excessively sweet and does not have smoky flavors, you can immediately say that it is not from the worlds of whiskey The smoked ones. A whiskey that is very aggressive in its flavors will often be a young whiskey. A whiskey whose flavors are connected and consolidated will be a whiskey that has been aged longer. In malt whiskey we will get leaner and sharper aromas compared to blended whiskey."
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