Forget Scotland, Ireland, Bourbon and Kentucky – Israel is making a bid to become a top Whisky producer. What better excuse to come to Israel and check out its new distilleries!
Shatour runs culinary tours and wine tasting tours of Israel, and we would be more than happy to take you on a tour of Israel’s new whisky distilleries – as long as we can taste them too!
The Israeli whisky industry is very new – dating back only 5 years – and like many Israeli stories, it begins with Aliyah and startups.
The Golan Heights Distillery is located in a rugged landscape that evokes memories of Scotland, and it takes its water from a pure local stream. They source their whisky casks from the Golan Heights Winery so that their whisky is flavoured with the fragrance of their wines. Both this craft distillery and the Edrei Distillery nearby were started by new immigrants from Montreal.
American immigrants Alan Cohl and Noam Cohen decided to make bourbon-style whisky at their Legends distillery in the Elah Valley. New on the scene with their Tel Aviv Distillery is Milk and Honey, started by native Israeli kibbutznik Tomer Goren.
Many of these dedicated whisky makers are hoping to use locally grown grains for their product to keep it local. They also experiment with Israeli flavors for their whisky, hoping to ignite the local market for an imported product that is traditionally very expensive.
Proof of the increasing Israeli market for whiskies can be found at the Whisky Bar and Museum in the Sarona gourmet market in Tel Aviv. Other restaurant and hotel bars are starting to display a wide range of single malt and blended whiskies from around the world, with local brands beginning to catch on among connoisseurs.
So, if you are looking to sample the latest tastes in Israeli drinks, talk to Shatour about arranging an Israeli Whisky Tour.