Following the very well received M&H Classic (reviewed here), the distillery’s Master Distiller, Tomer Goren, went on to create three permanent expressions, each highlights a cask type used by the distillery to bring out different aspects of its character. This review is the second in this series, following the review for the Wine Cask Matured (reviewed here).
As a quick reminder, the series includes:
- Elements Red Wine Cask – Matured in barrels from Israeli wineries, and bring out the full wine maturation experience, as opposed to the more stirpped down experince of STR casks.
- Elements Sherry Cask – This whisky was matured in sherry casks seasoned in Jerez exclusively for the distillery using kosher certified sherry, making this the only sherry matured expression with a kosher certification.
- Elements Peated
Unlike the other two expression in the Elements series, we’re lacking the word ‘Cask’ on the label of the ‘Peated’. I said the it seems that not mentioning the “peated cask” is leaving the door open for actual M&H peated whisky to be bottled as one of the Elements, either as part of a vatting or on its own. That would obviously be very Interesting and welcome.
M&H Elements Peated (46% ABV, NCF, NC)
Appearance: Gold, very slow legs off a solid looking necklace.
Nose: There’s very little peat or smoke on the nose, and it seems to disappear over time in the glass. The honey and the light wine notes from the Classic are highlighted here, with the signature malt and spice.
Palate: There is peat on the palate, together with a lovely bitterness and honey. The white pepper plays with the sweet notes.
Linger: Spicy with an earthy smokiness, pepper and a very dry feel in the mouth.
Conclusion
Of the three Elements, this is the one I’d rank third, as it is less of a real peated expression and more of a “variant” of the classic with a little more smokiness. Nevertheless, the whisky is good and if you prefer peated whisky to wine matured whisky, this might be just the right amount of peatiness for you.
Tomer told me that the intention was to give the Classic just a bit of a peated boost, and that ‘Lightly Peated’ would be a better description.
Official sample was provided by M&H Distillery.