Milk & Honey

M&H 2018 – Recioto Wine, bottled at 55,1 % abv

First things first: Art & Craft – Dessert Wine Casks – Edition No. 01. Distilled on 20 November 2018, bottled on 28 February 2023, only 2521 bottles were produced. 

Upon Sipping: Sweet, red dessert wine from the Italian Valpolicella region. The whisky starts off quite floral but gets a hint of berries on the nose after a little breathing. Some influence of glue there too. The taste is compact and balanced, but leans towards the bitter end of the spectrum. Dry with tannin, but the fruity element remains noticeable. With water even more colour on the cheeks, but inevitably also too dry on the palate because of this strong wine influence. 

Score: 81 points.

M&H 2019 – Madeira barrels, bottled at 52,3 % abv

First things first: Art & Craft – Dessert Wine Casks – Edition No. 02, distilled on 23 September 2019, bottled on 22 November 2023. I could not decipher how many bottles were made. 

Upon Sipping: Less talkative, but enough to hear anyway. Hints on menthol mixed with vinegar and olive oil. Slowly developing towards a more herbal, almost Oriental spicy note. Then a rich flowerbed. That is quite a lot to find in just one glass. It entertains, but feels a tad unbalanced. In contrast with Editon 01 this M&H whisky has a sweet arrival on the tongue. But then a weird taste of Indonesian rice dish (very popular in the Netherlands) takes over. Not my cup of tea. Lots of curry chutney. With water some improvement on that, but still a weird one. 

Score: 74 points.

M&H 2019 – Tokaji Wine casks, bottled at 52 % abv

First things first: Art & Craft – Dessert Wine Casks – Edition No. 03, distilled on 13 August 2019, bottled on 23 November 2023. Some 1150 bottles were made. 

Upon Sipping: Hungarian wine this time. As if I am opening a bottle of glue in a kindergarten class room where the kids just had … arts & crafts! Hints of candy and strong smelling flowers in a freshly cleaned living room. Quite exuberant. The feel on the palate is pleasantly dry, with a multitude of barley influences. For once, the wine influences seem to serve instead of dominate. It makes for a better experience straight away, even though I was charmed by the Italian one. With water, an even more refreshing experience. Just the slightest bitter off-note for me. 

Score: 82 points.

M&H 2019 – White Port casks, bottled at 53,6 % abv

First things first: Art & Craft – Dessert Wine Casks – Edition No. 04, distilled on 17 June 2019, bottled on 3 December 2023 and only 2210 bottles were produced. 

Upon Sipping: Mostly “yellow” notes in the form of sunflower oil and bananas that are getting towards their optimum moment before consumption. Also a bit sharp to nose, in contrast with the other three examples. The tongue is spoiled with an oily sweetness with white grapes and soft hints of tobacco leaf. It feels very mature, it has that in common with the Tokaji variant. On this last expression, M&H manages to find the perfect balance between sweet and bitter notes. It works like a charm. With water, there is an added freshness to the drinking experience. 

Score: 83 points.