Israeli Adventures: Pt. 3, Spirits

So far in this 3-part series, we’ve learned about wine and beer; but to complete the trinity, we need to learn about Israeli spirits.

Pretty much every country I’ve ever traveled to has had a “signature” spirit of some sort. Greece? Ouzo. Scotland? Scotch, duh. Poland? Vodka. Peru? Pisco.

You get the picture.

So, what is Israel’s signature spirit? And, why?

The Classic

Just as I surmised, there is a classic drink: Arak. And it seems as though this grape-based, anise-flavored spirit might be a common across all middle eastern countries, not just Israel.

This makes sense as the arak evolved from the Arab invention of alembic distillation way back in the 12th century. This explains why so many different middle eastern countries claim a culture of arak, as map lines looked very different in the 1100s.

If you’re just nodding along politely at the last sentence, I did some googling for you: An “Alembic” is a now-obsolete distilling apparatus, consisting of a rounded, necked flask and a cap with a long beak for condensing and conveying the products to a receiver.

Arak is made from just two ingredients: grapes and aniseed. The grape juice is first distilled to produce basically a neutral brandy, then the aniseed is added during the second or third distillation.

So, while sometimes you may find flavored araks, with added ingredients such as dates, plums, figs, and molasses, the truest form tastes like anise.

And quick botany lesson for ya: while the flavor and aroma of anise and licorice are so close most people use the words interchangeably, they are two very different plants, botanically speaking.

A compound called glycyrrhizin is what gives licorice its flavor, and this can be up to 100 times sweeter than sugar. Anise seeds however are closely related to fennel and get their flavor from the compound anethole.

And this compound is what gives arak its signature party trick: the clear spirit turns cloudy when mixed with ice and water, which is the traditional way to drink it.

This is called “breaking” the arak. As far as I can surmise from my research, this is common or “traditional” for two main reasons.

1. Consuming arak is something usually done as a culture touchpoint during a meal with others; it’s not made or meant for excess drinking.
2. But it is fairly strong, so cutting it with water and ice is a must.

While very popular within the Middle Eastern countries, arak never caught on in the States. I’d guess this is because, in general, anise is a very divisive flavor.

The Up-and-Coming

Arak is not the only spirit made in Israeli distilleries, however. Believe it or not, there is a blossoming whiskey trend in the country!

The craft-distilling whiskey revolution was started by two separate distilleries ramping up at approximately the same time in two different regions of Israel.

David Zibell, an immigrant to Israel from Montreal, founded the Golan Heights Distillery in 2014 and rolled out his first whiskey in 2016. The distillery is located in Golan Heights (also a major Israeli wine region, if you recall part 1 of our Israeli Adventure series), which is in the northern portion of Israel and a bit more mountainous in terrain.

Golan Heights Distillery is actually the second-largest distillery in the country however, the largest being Milk & Honey Distillery owned and founded by Gal Kalkschtein. They’re located in Tel Aviv’s southern industrial zone, and opened in 2014.

While both of the distilleries are fairly new, M&H took their product to the 2019 World Whiskey Awards held in the United Kingdom and walked away with eight winning categories including "Rest of the World" category, "Craft Producer of the Year," "Brand Innovator of the Year," and "Master Distiller of the Year”.

This is a massive achievement for such a young whiskey culture.

Kalkstein attributes some of the whiskey’s winning qualities on the climate of Israel, of all things.

"Hot climate maturation means that our whiskey ages rapidly, yet significantly gracefully.”

In 2013, M&H even brought on an expert in hot climate distillation, Dr. Jim Swan, to help advise with the initial set up of everything in the distillery from the layout of the floor plan to the stills used in distillation.

Today, the distillery is winning awards and available in over 40 countries worldwide… so they must be onto something with that hot climate!

Weekly Adventure

If you’re interested in trying arak, and are not too picky about being über traditional about it, it seems as through a cocktail called limonana is very popular is Israel. It’s arak mixed with lemonade and mint leaves. Sounds very refreshing, and perfect for a summer sipper!

Cheers,

Molly

References

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/alembic

https://www.winemag.com/2020/03/09/arak-middle-eastern-spirit-modern-appeal/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arak_(drink)

https://www.thespruceeats.com/arak-middle-eastern-alcoholic-beverage-2355492

https://www.itraveltelaviv.com/articles/5-popular-drinks-tel-aviv-bars/

https://www.israel21c.org/the-israeli-whisky-revolution-thats-happening-now/

https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/article-731560

https://whiskeyreviewer.com/2022/06/israel-produces-whiskey/

https://mh-distillery.com/about-us/