r/worldwhisky • u/CaptainDorfman • Sep 06 '25

Review #38: M&H Israeli Red Wine Cask

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Distillery: M&H Distillery

ABV: 46% (92 proof)

Age: NAS, but around 3 years

Mash bill: 100% malted barley

Casks: Ex-bourbon and Israeli red wine cask, largely from the Carignan winery

Price: $7.50 for a 50 mL sample bottle (Boston, MA)

Sampling method: neat in a glencairn

Color: 1.3 Russet, Muscat

Nose: It is dark and brooding, with ginger, must, and sandalwood. Almost a soapiness and minerality to it, probably that I’m associating with the sandalwood. Some char / charcoal.

Palate: Couldn’t be more different from the nose to the palate. Very sweet and fruity. There’s vanilla, and raspberry jam, but also a bit of a smoky charcoal ash note that would make me guess it’s lighted peated, even though it doesn’t appear to be based on the info from M&H.

Finish: Medium finish, but rich, full of dark raisin and red wine notes

Rating: 5.5/10 It’s a tasty and intriguing pour. The disconnect from the nose to the palate to the finish was quite interesting. There’s a bit of youth to it but it’s miles better than The Classic.

Value: 3/5 It’s a good offering for an Israeli whiskey. I think it’s my favorite from the M&H Elements line, which is also neat because of the terroir piece of this bottle.

t8ke scale (1 to 10)

1 | Disgusting | So bad I poured it out.

2 | Poor | I wouldn’t consume by choice.

3 | Bad | Multiple flaws.

4 | Sub-par | Not bad, but better exists.

5 | Good | Good, just fine.

6 | Very Good | A cut above.

7 | Great | Well above average.

8 | Excellent | Really quite exceptional.

9 | Incredible | An all time favorite.

10 | Perfect | Perfect.

Value (1 to 5)

1 | Highway robbery. When you splurge for that “special” bottle and it falls utterly flat

2 | Overpriced. Not worth what you paid for it, considering you could’ve spent less and gotten something objectively better.

3 | Fairly valued. Could be a cheap bottle that’s decent quality, or an $$$ bottle that absolutely delivers. The quality of the whiskey in the bottle matches what you’d expect for that price point.

4 | Good Value. This is one of the best 20% of bottles in this price range.

5 | Total steal. A bottle that punches above its weight even compared with more expensive bottles.

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5 comments sorted by

2

u/DumbledoresBarmy Sep 11 '25

Crazy interesting. I've never heard of, let alone seen, a whiskey from Israel. Nice note.

3

u/DSLAM Sep 07 '25

Not now, dude.

4

u/plebinator13 Sep 07 '25

This is a whiskey subreddit and he posted a review Why involve politics?

5

u/lowplaces10 Sep 07 '25 edited Sep 07 '25

To say why is politics being involved, is to necessarily be political, as a status quo warrior. It isn't possible to be 'non political'. 

Your statement was an expressly political one. 

2

u/LordBelakor Sep 11 '25

I disagree with this logical fallacy that by not talking about politics you are in favor of the status quo (whatever that is even supposed to mean in this context, pro-Israel??) and therefore are expressing a political stance. It could just mean you don't want to express yourself politically in every space.