PBMichiganWolverine
M&H APEX Pomegranate Wine Cask
Single Malt — Israel
Reviewed
October 2, 2021 (edited December 1, 2021)
Born and raised in the US, yet from a south Asian heritage, there’s always a conflict of balancing the traditional Asian culture against the American way of life. This permeates in everything —the very notion of the American “ it is my right “ is so contrary to the Asian “it is my obligation “. As an example—Way we raise our kids, way we treat our parents—-it’s less about “me “ as opposed to “ us “. There is that fundamental difference in the inherent “my right “ vs “my obligation “.
Of course, there’s non-divisive balancing acts as well—-like cuisine. One such item is the noble pomegranate. Here in US, this fruit is reduced to salad toppings and smoothies. But if you look at Indian, Israeli, Turkish, Greek and Middle Eastern cuisine, this fruit is elevated to amazing heights. Growing up, we always considered having this as a special treat. It was expensive, and of course seasonal. My mom used to make a dish with pomegranate, potatoes , green chilies , asofoetida, cumin, and coriander seeds. Stir fried over ghee, the house just had the aroma of spices and fruit.
So—when I saw @worldwhiskies95 ‘s review on this, it bought back memories of taking such a noble fruit, and elevating it to where it truly is the star. I had to buy a bottle of this whiskey.
First whiff, you get the wine aroma. Not necessarily pomegranate yet. More red berries and vanilla. But on the palette, you get that pomegranate—-backed up by dark chocolate. Really well made, where the cask seems to have a huge influence. I wished it had more time in cask, but that’s just me—-I wanted more pomegranates. If you don’t like wine influence, or a strong floral / fruity taste, this may not be for you. Like the cultural divisions between east and west, I can see this being polarizing as well. Not for everyone, but a worthwhile pour at the least.
110.0
USD
per
Bottle
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Hey there no worries I am so behind on my activity here as well. I am sorry your mother passed when you were so young. She sounds like a beautiful spirit.
@Richard-ModernDrinking my biggest issue with the Apex line is the price. It’s a steep entry fee for 3 yr olds.
I did a fascinating tasting a couple of weeks ago where I had tried M&H whiskies matured in Tel Aviv alongside the same casks matured at the Dead Sea. They weren’t all better, but the final combination into the newest Dead Sea Apex edition is worth seeking out.
@Richard-ModernDrinking i only had one M&H before, was also few months old. Wasn’t impressed at all, but I think age does wonders to this, as most any spirit
@JoelyO my apologies—-I missed this message. I wish I remembered the recipe…I was just a kid. She passed away decades ago when I was still a kid, so, unfortunately that recipe is gone. I did look it up once by a google search, but maybe my technique was lacking. Wasn’t the same
Thank you for sharing your point of view and feelings on this divide. The name of this one draws me in. Milk and Honey by Rui Kaur is one of my daughter's favorite books. We also have always loved pomegranate. I would love your mother's recipe! Will hope to try this one someday.
I enjoyed this three years when it was but a few months old and again in a bar recently when it was released. It's more interesting than many wine casks and another reason to be excited about the future of this distillery.
Sounds pretty interesting....gotta go back to India first though
@ContemplativeFox me too. Most of the reviews I’ve read were negative, and I can see why: strong cask influence that outshines distillate, and too wine-y. So, I think this might be a situation where it attracts a small subset of enthusiasts
This sounds fascinating! I've read primarily negative things outside of distiller, so seeing some positive reviews here is a welcome surprise.