Drink the fall: Eight recommended single malts for rainy days

Writing about whisky is like making Turkish coffee. You need to let things settle. It’s a fine journalistic practice. It’s also an excellent excuse for why an article about Whisky Live 2025 is being published more than a month late. Or so it seems to me — you be the judge.

But if something good has come out of all this delay, it’s that now, just after you’ve given away the whisky you bought as a holiday gift, it’s time to buy a bottle for yourself.

Everything that’s happening right now — and I do mean everything — justifies a glass of whisky, especially considering the superb selection offered by the exhibitors at this year’s festival. Before we begin, here’s one more paragraph about the festival itself.

Whisky Live 2025 took me back to Israel’s festival culture that flourished here until just before the COVID era. A culture in which festivals across all fields managed to rise above challenges like niche appeal, closed communities, and esoteric expertise, and draw more and more curious people with every passing year.

As always, this year’s Whisky Live was the highlight event of Israel’s whisky community, featuring a core of enthusiasts and professionals, but it was also packed with revelers whose thirst — for both knowledge and whisky — was evident. This is not just an observation, but also a call to all those beginner drinkers who feel that an event like Whisky Live might be a bit beyond their hobby level — see you in 2026.

Here are some of the standout editions from Whisky Live 2025 — bottles recommended for the rainy days ahead, and for better times that I hope are coming soon.

The excellent Hatozaki whisky has already been reviewed here in the past. The young Japanese distillery has made a name for itself as one that connects spiritually to local traditions on the one hand, and breaks industrial conventions on the other — with the refinement and precision that the Land of the Rising Sun is known for.

Three types of casks come together here for the aging of the distillates that make up this edition: Ex-bourbon, sherry, and Mizunara (Japanese oak). The edition is non-age-statement, but the aging time is probably around six years — a period that may sound short, yet skillful use of sherry cask richness and the sensitivity of Mizunara wood manages to produce a whisky that rises above the numbers.

On the nose: The sweetness of milk rolls, jasmine blossom, and a hint of moss. On the palate: Clementine, candy dragée sweetness, and a touch of clove. The finish is earthy, with matcha and a pleasant sting of pink pepper. Price: About NIS 300.

The Loch Lomond distillery can do anything if it just sets its mind to it. Its large scale allows for influence and access to a wide variety of casks, as well as the ability to turn something special into something standard.

This edition of Loch Lomond is exactly that — a peated whisky, once a relatively rare product of the distillery, now more common, that undergoes a six-month finish in Rioja wine casks, which were once considered rare themselves in whisky aging, and often justified an extra few hundred shekels in retail price.

Sounds good? Great, because it gets even better. This edition is here to stay. Not limited, not seasonal — a regular production of a complex, fascinating profile, with a bottle that will always be waiting for you on the shelf as soon as you finish the previous one.

The nose is quite culinary, with smoked cheese and pickled Shoshka pepper in brine. On the palate, the smoke becomes more concentrated, joined by dark miso and chili jam. The finish flashes briefly with the citrus freshness of red grapefruit, followed by deep silan (date syrup) sweetness. Price: About NIS 150.

The Champagne house Champagne Dumangin has earned the attention and affection of both whisky professionals and drinkers, thanks to a series of collaborations with distilleries — particularly small ones that preserve their craft status.

As part of the series, the distillates are aged in Ratafia casks — a fortified wine produced in the Champagne region, in this case by Dumangin itself.

If that wasn’t intriguing enough, the distillery chosen by Dumangin for this edition is the Texan Balcones, perhaps my favorite in the genre, and its single malt.

The joint edition by Dumangin and Balcones was aged for about six years — four in ex-bourbon casks and the remainder in Ratafia casks.

On the nose: Sponge cake fresh from the oven, dried plums, and ground walnuts. The palate is dessert-like from start to finish, with crème anglaise, butter cookies, and bittersweet pralines. The sweetness continues into the finish, which opens with strawberry compote and closes with aged tobacco. Price: NIS 520.

The 21-year edition of Aberfeldy is not here because it’s new to the shelf, but because it evokes memories of distant days — leisure time in Tel Aviv and a hole in my pocket.

I used to sit from time to time at Nechama VaChetzi, the beloved café that recently closed. The whisky menu at Nechama wasn’t long, but it was surprisingly affordable, and it had a star rarely found in the city’s bars: Aberfeldy.

No, it wasn’t the 21-year edition or even the 16-year, but it definitely knew something about this world. And now, years later, I encounter Aberfeldy again — again in Tel Aviv. As for the hole in my pocket — no comment.

Aberfeldy 21 is a blend of ex-bourbon and sherry casks — each aged for at least 21 years, providing the full picture from every flavor profile.

On the nose: Oatmeal porridge with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a few rosemary leaves. The palate continues the sweet line with gentle molasses and red apple. The finish reveals raspberry, followed by black licorice candy. Price: NIS 999.

Tamnavulin whisky has been available in Israel for several years and has earned a loyal following, much of it thanks to its sherry edition, which combines high quality with a very accessible price.

Tamnavulin is far from a small distillery, but sometimes it likes to embark on adventures as if it were one. Such an adventure is the wine cask finish series, which has also made its way to our shelves — including a long finish in Sauvignon Blanc casks.

White wine casks are less common in whisky aging, and their flavor profile differs greatly from the more familiar red wine casks, so using them carries some risk. But a veteran and experienced distillery like Tamnavulin can be trusted — and the risk here definitely pays off.

The nose is buttery, with cheesecake and lemon zest. The white color is interestingly reflected in the taste as well, with an opening of white chocolate, joined by lavender flowers and orange peel. The finish features instant coffee with sweetened condensed milk. Price: NIS 140.

The Glenfiddich distillery has released a 19-year edition aimed at two main markets — the United States and Israel — with strict kosher certification. That certainly doesn’t hurt.

What’s really impressive here is that it’s fully aged in ex-bourbon casks. While under the banner of strict kosher supervision, Glenfiddich could have bottled a whisky that was simply fine — but that’s not how a respected distillery operates. The result is one of the best Glenfiddich editions I’ve tasted recently.

On the nose: Pineapple popsicle, lemon verbena, and white raisins. On the palate: Carambola, delicate vanilla, and black tea — which in the finish develops bergamot into a perfect Earl Grey, with a small kick of white pepper. Price: NIS 489.

We drinkers are fortunate that over the past year, more and more Balvenie editions have made their way to us. The distillery gained a devoted fan base even back when local store shelves rarely saw more than one or two regular editions.

The rise in whisky consumption in Israel has not escaped the distillery’s attention, which has begun sending us special and limited editions — each another chapter in Balvenie’s story of renewal over the past decade, under the excellent malt master Kelsey McKechnie.

Of the total 16 years, the whisky spends 14 in ex-bourbon casks before moving to a two-year finish in Pineau des Charentes casks — a French fortified wine whose casks are considered particularly prestigious in the whisky industry.

On the nose: Pitanga, roasted pecans, and carrot cake. On the palate: Crème pâtissière, dark chocolate, and fresh blueberries. The finish opens with Marmite spread, softens into sesame oil, and closes with candied wheat. Price: NIS 789.

The Talisker distillery sits on the shore of one of the most magical islands in the world — Skye, Scotland — producing peated whisky considered relatively mild within the smoky category, yet offering plenty of Atlantic Ocean tasting notes.

The distillery’s special 2023 release was bottled at true cask strength — 59.7%, with a triple finish in port casks: Red, white, and tawny. Despite (and in some sense because of) the high alcohol percentage, after a few minutes of breathing, the glass bursts with complex aromas and fascinating flavors, without the burn that such alcohol levels sometimes bring — so don’t rush to add water.

On the nose: Rosewater tea, candle wax, and a hint of cocoa. On the palate: Juicy lychee, dry cider, and wood smoke. The finish features candied violets and a touch of sea salt. Price: NIS 799.