Since moving to Israel, I’ve experienced and most typically enjoyed hundreds of wine tastings. It just goes with the territory of being a wine writer and sommelier. It’s a pleasant diversion when you’re offered a nice twist from the standard fare of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Chardonnay. I do appreciate fine examples of those “Noble” grapes but there’s just so many wineries producing those varietals that when a rarer varietal like Viognier or Cabernet Franc is offered, the contrast is noted and appreciated. Even rarer in Israel, though much more common in most other established wine regions, are examples of local brandy.
The term “brandy wine” come from the Dutch for “burnt wine” and is a fermented wine of about 8 to 12 % alcohol (most often from white wine grapes) then distilled into a finished product typically resulting in a bottle at a robust 40% alcohol. The unique distillation process used in making brandy can often produce flavors and aromas that transcend the original wine’s profile so much so to mask the original source of what fruit was used for the base wine. Only a few wineries in Israel, out of hundreds, make brandy and the Carmel Winery by far has the largest selection available with currently 5 brandies readily available with occasional “special” editions and cellar gems available at their shop in Zichron Ya’acov.
With so little brandy available and produced in Israel, I was elated to be invited to a tasting at Carmel’s Rishon Le Zion facility, first for the brandy and more esoterically to visit the location which at over 120 years old is one of Israel’s oldest industrial plants. We would go on to taste nine brandies after a thorough tour. The Carmel Winery has been Israel’s largest winery for over a century but its only producing half the wine it did 20 years ago as its made a transition to stress making quality wine over quantity and in the last ten years, it has dozens of awards and reviews to measure their progress on that sojourn. As its production has halved, Carmel is transitioning and condensing most of its production and operations from its two sister wineries to just one in Zichron Ya’acov with the Rishon winery for the time being retaining bottling operations for the dozens of Carmel wines that end up in 15 million bottles a year. There is another limited facility at Kayoumi in the Galilee that assists in processing Carmel’s extensive plantings in that prestigious appellation.
Now closed to public, I had long awaited a tour of Carmel’s Rishon operations and for me the day sort of had a Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory feel and I felt like Charlie with a golden ticket being guided by Carmel’s Development Manager Adam Montefiore. Who knows, maybe Carmel has purple skinned Oompa-Lumpas working behind the scenes instead of orange skinned chocolate laborers. Either way, a parade of nine Carmel brandies awaited just us five writers as we tasted the brandies in three flights guided by Adam.
The first flight featured Carmel’s value brandies, Carmel Extra-Fine and Carmel 777. These are Carmel’s most readily available and affordable brandies respectively priced at 80 NIS for the two year aged Extra-Fine and only another 5 to 10 NIS more for the three year a aged 777. They were both pleasant with the 777 leaning towards being a bit more fruity than the Extra-Fine. For the price, compared to other brandies in Israel, these brandies are your best bet when considering a relatively inexpensive aperitif or as a base for a Sidecar or Brandy Alexander.
Our second flight of fancy offered some rare treats and a glimpse into the potential of Israeli made brandies. First up was a barrel tasting of a yet to be released brandy made entirely from Muscat of Alexdrania grapes. This was a deviation from the other brandies that we tasted, mostly composed of Colombard grapes (as its the most common white wine grape in Israel also used to make France’s most famous brandy, Cognac and Armagnac). As it was a cask sample it was at 70% alcohol since with many distilled beverages (such as whiskey) water is typically added back after to distillation to bring the bottled product down to a more easily consumable and fragrant 40%. Tasting it before and after adding water was illuminating and it was interesting and enticing enough on its own to hopefully warrant its own release as it was richer with a longer smoother finish than their value brandies and stood up to blend we would later taste.
Next was another rare find from Carmel’s own cellars including a taste of maybe their only bottle left of Carmel 777 Gold which was a one off release of a 6 year brandy that was my first hint that Carmel could deliver a remarkable brandy to the marketplace. The next two brandies in this flight were also rare and enticing brandies now only sold at Carmel’s visitor center in Zichron with only a few bottles left.
The first was a nine year oak aged Carmel 100 commemorating Carmel’s 100th anniversary. There are only a few bottles of this award winning brandy remaining selling for 1,500 NIS. Its flight mate was a just as rare 15 year aged Carmel XO available for 2,200 NIS in a special decanter bottle. Both of these brandies were expressive of white fruit and vanilla and worthy conversation starters but maybe not the best investment for a newcomer to brandy but rather for a connoisseur or someone seeking out a special gift.
Where the first 6 brandies we tried were expressions of Carmel’s past, the last three we would try would be a taste of their future plans for releasing premium brandy: Carmel 100 (a new version), Carmel 120 and a limited edition of 300 bottles (one barrel’s worth) as a tribute to the recently departed wine critic Daniel Rogov. At 200 NIS, 550 NIS and 500 NIS respectively the Carmel 120 seemed to be the consensus favorite of all of at the tasting with the Rogov tribute brandy a sentimental favorite as a way to spur a conversation about someone almost every one who met him has a story worthy of telling.
At this juncture, I don’t pretend to have the familiarity or expertise with brandy that I have been credited with concerning wine but after this tasting of Carmel’s brandies enticed me to be more curious and adventurous in the future in that I’m a fan of any well executed expression of grapes whether its off the vine, fermented, fortified or distilled.
The following is from wines-israel.com and reprinted with permission. A rare and unique brandy tasting was recently held by Carmel Winery. It was held in the ‘Baron Edmond de Rothschild Tasting Room’ at ZichronYa’acov Wine Cellars. It was appropriately held at Purim and on St. Patrick’s Day – traditional days for Jews & the Irish to enjoy their liquor. The maximum 22 people crowded in to the tasting room to be met by eight brandy glasses laid out by numbers. The following brandies were tasted: 1. Carmel Extra Fine Brandy A two year old brandy. Light, fruity, slightly spirity. Mainly made by continuous still.This is ideal for bars, for adding mixers, making cocktails or for cooking. Extra Fine is the Israel’s oldest wine & spirits brand, and the label has barely changed. It is estimated the Carmel has produced Extra Fine brandy for 110 years! A three year old brandy, which was very fruity, and reasonably light.Considered to be the perfect aperitif brandy – to be enjoyed before ameal. 777 Brandy is one of the oldest brands in Israel, being at least 55 years old. The numbers were chosen because of the importance of the number 7 in Judaism. It was a winner of gold medals at the IWSC in the 1990’s. Underrated – thought to represent good value. 
3. Muscat Brandy – cask sample A brandy withdrawn from cask for the tasting. The brandy was a distillation of Muscat of Alexandria wine, aged for 7 years in barrels previously used for fermenting & aging chardonnay. The strength was 65%, but it was reduced for the tasting to 40%. It was fascinating to taste. Very aromatic but not immediately apparent from the nose that it was made from muscat. Some of the tasters recommended it should be bottled as it is. 4. Carmel Brandy 100, 9 year old This brandy was first produced in 1982 to celebrate 100 years from the founding of Carmel. This particular expression was bottled in the 1990’s in a traditional frosted brandy bottle, after 9 years aging in limousin oak barrels . In 1998 it won the Trophy of ‘Best Brandy Worldwide’ at the International Wine & Spirits Competition in London. Only four bottles remain at the winery – one of which was opened for the tasting. The brandy was elegant, fruity, with a touch of rich sweetness. 5. Carmel XO Brandy, 15 year old This fifteen year old brandy also in its time won a gold medal at the IWSC in London. Bottled in a special glass decanter, there are only five bottles remaining at the winery, so it is extremely rare. The brandy held up well in the tasting, but some felt it did not match up to expectations. 6. Carmel 100 Brandy (the new expression) This new expression of Carmel 100 Brandy is bottled in a simple, clear brandy bottle. It is made from Colombard, Chenin Blanc & Emerald Riesling, distilled 75% in pot stills and 25% in a continuous still. The minimum age statement is 8 years, but 20% of the blend was aged for 13 years and 6% for between 23 to 25 years. The brandy was aged in used wine barrels, so can be said to be a ‘wine finish’ brandy. The brandy was actually very fruity, with a backdrop of oak flavors and a warm & complex finish. The tasters were of the opinion this was the best value brandy in the tasting. A rare brandy made to celebrate Carmel’s 120th harvest. Only 2000 numbered bottles were produced. This brandy was produced from Colombard& Muscat grapes distilled in pot stills. The minimum age statement is 10 years, but 40% of the brandy was 15 years old and 35% between 25 to 27 years old. The older components were aged in limousinoak barrels, as is the tradition in Cognac. The younger components were aged in used wine barrels and the muscat brandy was aged in used chardonnay barrels. The brandy itself had a beautifully rich dried fruits character, a warm middle palate and a long finish. It actually improved when put in the brandy balloon glass. Israel’s leading wine critic, Daniel Rogov, awardedthis brandy 95 points and wrote this was the finest Israeli brandy he had ever tasted. This particular Armagnac was fiery, spirity. It was in the tasting to illustrate the difference between Cognac, Armagnac and Israeli brandies. It was explained that Armagnacs are usually more earthy & characterful than the smoother, more aristocratic Cognac. This was agood example of a basic cognac: smooth and round. However the majority of those present thought the Israeli brandies did not suffer by comparison. Far from it. The tasting was conducted in a series of mini tastings: Extra Fine was tasted alongside 777 Carmel 100 Brandy, 9 year old was tasted with Carmel Brandy XO, 15 year old The new Carmel 100 Brandy & Carmel 120 Brandy were tasted togethor And finally the Sempe Armagnac & Courvoisier Cognac. Then the participants were encouraged to go back & taste them all again. The older brandies, including the major award winner, were distilled & blended by Freddie Stiller, who was winemaker at Carmel until the mid 1990’s. Though he was the winemaker, he was always considered a brandy specialist.The younger brandies were made by master distiller Mendel Gil, a winemaker at Rishon Le Zion, who studied the art of distillation and blending brandy in the Ukraine and Moldova. The current chief winemaker LiorLacser blended the new Carmel 100 and 120 Brandies. Afterwards the tasters left the room to enjoy some food prepared by the Bistro de Carmel Restaurant. During the break they were taken to see the current brandy cellar (the ‘Baron Jacob de Rothschild Cellar’) and were shown a model of Carmel’s Rishon Le Zion Cellars. It was explained that until now Carmel’s brandies were made in four copper pot stills, installed in the early 1950’s at Rishon. They were shown the spirits tower built in 1938 which houses the continuous still. It was also pointed out where the cellar was with its original wooden slatted roof, where all the brandies in the tasting were slowly matured in cask. They then returned for a blind tasting. This tasting explored the difference of tasting brandy in the traditional brandy balloon glass against the more professionally used ‘thistle’ glass. Views were mixed, but a conclusion was that the younger brandies showed better in the thistle glass, and the richer brandies were better in the brandy glass. Afterwards the tasters converged on the Carmel Wine & Culture shop, where they received Carmel Vintage 2007. It was explained that this was a port style wine, relevant to the tasting because it had been fortified by brandy. It was served with dry fruits and hamantaschen (being Purim.) The finale was a glass of Private Collection Brut NV. This was a very clean, refreshing way to end the occasion. The English traditionally end a large banquet with a brut champagne as the digestif for the same reason. The event was hosted by Ruti Ben Israel and conducted by Mira Eitan who is not only Carmel’s Media & Communications Manager, but she is also an integral part of the Wine Development Department. She is one of Israel’s foremost experts on spirits, and was previously a drinks journalist for both Globes and Maariv newspapers. She then became editor of the Wine & Gourmet magazine for five years, before joining Carmel in 2010. She explained the history of brandy, Cognac, Armagnac and other fruit brandies. Carmel’s Adam Montefiore, more familiar with the brandies being shown, conducted the tasting. He explained the history of brandy in Israel, also mentioning Stock 84 and Tishbi along the way, and led the participants step by step through the tasting. It was a rare and thrilling tasting for brandy lovers. This event is part of an ongoing program of events organized by Carmel Wine & Culture (Carmel’s Center for Wine Culture). Wine events have included tutored vertical tastings of Yatir Forest, Carmel Limited Edition, Kayoumi Vineyard Shiraz and KayoumiVineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Cultural events include an opera singer’s concert and the Moran Choir performing in Carmel’s 120 year old cellars.
Twenty years ago there was a large market for Israeli brandies. Stock 84 and Brandy 777 were big domestic brands. In the 1990’s Carmel & Tishbi brandies won major international recognition at the very highest possible level. Yet high domestic taxes and the fact that brandy just drifted out of fashion, have contributed to an ongoing decline in Israeli brandy, which has continued until today. This is sad because Israeli brandies are good and deserve better.
The new brown spirits of choice for Israelis are Scottish or Irish whiskies, but the major boom in sales has been in vodka. The major international vodka brands came to Israel backed by their massive advertising as global brands and furthermore, cheap vodka imports fuelled the trend to what has become the preferred drink of Israeli youth. Today the few remaining brandy drinkers tend to be in the 60 year old plus age group.
It is true that the main indigenous spirit in the eastern Mediterranean/ Levant region is Arak, but it is scarcely a product at its best when made by Israelis. Ironically, the best Arak in Israel is produced by a Lebanese refugee from the South Lebanese Army, which is not a surprise. Lebanon is home to the best araks. However Israel does have a spirit it makes well. Israeli brandies are made to a good standard and have also enjoyed a fair amount of success internationally. As a wine producing country, Israel should be very proud of its brandies.
The brandy with the highest profile is Stock 84. Stock is a famous international company, which was founded in 1884 in Italy by an eighteen year old called Lionello Stock. The Jewish owned company settled in Trieste and was a great success until the rise of Hitler & Mussolini. Then the distilleries were pillaged, closed or nationalized. Because of this, Lionello Stock, had to rebuild his company again towards the end of his life and chose to make a start in other countries like America … and Israel. In 1938 he began to produce brandy in Ramat Gan, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. Their Stock 84 Brandy, now a major international brand, is still made in Israel under license by Barkan Winery, which is owned by Tempo Breweries. The Israeli version is liked by those that buy it for having ‘bite’, and it remains the biggest selling brandy in Israel.
Carmel began distilling excess grapes to produce brandy in 1898. Their distillery tower, at Rishon Le Zion Cellars, was built in the 1930’s and their four pot stills and two continuous stills date from the founding of the state. Carmel’s brandies were aged in casks previously used to mature fine wines, in the original 100 year old barrel cellar at Rishon Le Zion, which still has the original wooden slatted roof. They include the Brandy Extra Fine, which is Israel’s oldest brand of brandy, and the label has remained virtually unchanged since before the founding of the State of Israel. It is a best seller in the Jerusalem area.
More-well known is the Carmel 777 Brandy, once known as Richon 777. This is a mere 50 years old and is the most likely Israeli brandy to be found in export markets. The name ‘777’ was chosen because of the importance of this number in the Jewish religion. The 777 Brandy is Israel’s second biggest seller and is most popular as an aperitif or as a beginners brandy.
Carmel 100 Brandy was launched in 1982 to celebrate the winery’s 100 year anniversary. Both Carmel’s brandies, 100 and 777, have won gold medals in international competition. The most praiseworthy prize was the ‘Trophy for Best Brandy Worldwide’ at the International Wine & Spirits Competition awarded in 1998. Then the brandies were produced by Freddie Stiller, for many years the winemaker of Carmel Mizrahi. Today the Master Distiller is Mendel Gil, who studied the art of distillation in Russia and the Ukraine.
In the early 1990’s, Tishbi Winery gained the advice and support of Sidney Back of Backsberg Winery in South Africa in an innovative venture. They decided to purchase an authentic Alembic Still from Cognac with the objective of making Israel’s first Cognac style brandy. Yonatan’s son, Golan Tishbi, was the distiller. He took this is on as his personal project, after studying the techniques at Remy Martin. The resulting three year old brandy was an instant success winning the prestigious ‘Trophy for Best Brandy Worldwide’ at the IWSC in London in 1996.
It was no mean feat for two Israeli brandies to win this Trophy twice in three years. However, it received less media attention than say, the comparable successes of Yarden at the IWSC and in the Wine Spectator, Castel in Decanter or Yatir in the Wine Advocate. Brandy was already becoming unfashionable in Israel.
The only other Israeli company to produce brandy is Binyamina Winery. In the days they were known as Eliaz, they produced a brandy called BBB, which continues to be produced today. More interesting to the brandy lover is The Cave Brandy, which is produced at Binyamina Winery, but has been matured at ‘The Cave’. This is a genuine 400 year old cave in the foothills of Mt. Carmel, not far from Bat Shlomo. It is 90 meters long with stone lined walls and ideal, natural aging conditions.
Segal Wines used to produce a brandy called Grand 41 and a brandy liqueur called Hallelujah, but these were discontinued soon after they were bought by Barkan.
So the main brandies to be found today in Israeli supermarkets are: Brandy Extra Fine, Carmel 777, Stock 84 and occasionally, BBB Brandy. The leading quality brandies for the brandy connoisseur are: Carmel 100 Brandy, Jonathan Tishbi Brandy and The Cave Brandy. These are scarcer, but may be found in most quality wine stores. The main brandy liqueur is Grand Sabra, which is particular popular in duty free shops.
Details about these brandies are as follows:
BBB Brandy, 3 Star A basic brandy product produced by Binyamina Winery, suitable for those looking to buy on price. It is produced in a squat bottle, normally associated with liqueurs. In ‘Classic Brandy’ by Nicholas Faith, BBB is referred to as: “.. the cheapest and naturally least satisfying of all Israeli brandies.” However it could be well used in cocktails.
Price: 45 shekels.
Stock 84, VSOP Stock 84 is produced under licence by Barkan Winery. It is made from a number of grape varieties, distilled in a continuous still and aged for up to four years in large oak casks. The result is light, fiery with an alcoholic nose. Described in ‘Classic Spirits’ as: “Lighter styled… with a touch of fire.”
Brandy Extra Fine, 2 year old Extra Fine is a brandy produced by Carmel from various white grape varieties, distilled in a continuous still. It is aged in oak for 2 years. The result is in a light style, but it is still quite fruity.
Carmel 777 De-Luxe Brandy, 3 year old Carmel 777 is mainly distilled in a continuous still and then aged for three years in small oak barrels. It is a light, fruity, spirity brandy, representing good value. It is an aperitif style
Carmel 100 Brandy, 8 year old
Carmel 100 is mainly produced from Colombard and a little Emerald Riesling and Chenin Blanc grapes, grown in the Shefela and Mt. Carmel regions. Seventy five per cent of the base wine was double distilled in copper pot stills and twenty five percent was distilled in a continuous still. The brandy was matured in barrels previously used for wines, so can be said to have a ‘wine finish’. The minimum age statement on the bottle is 8 years, but there are components of 13, 23 and 25 year old brandies in the blend.
Carmel 100 is referred to in ‘The Ultimate Bar Book’ by Andre Domine as: “An after dinner brandy with rich aromas of dried fruit, it is pleasantly warm and long on the palate.” A recent tasting note by the judges in the IWSC in London described the brandy in complimentary terms: “Medium depth of gold. Delightful floral notes on the nose with apricot and peach. Well rounded mouth with sweet fruit flavours and firm oak backing. Some nutty notes add complexity. Lively, spirited finish.” The book ‘Classic Spirits’ described the Carmel 100 as being with a: “Firm, mellow-fruit flavor and balance.”
The Cave Brandy, 10 year old A brandy produced by Binyamina Winery. Made from French Colombard, double distilled and matured for 10 years in the cave, from which it receives its name. It is sold in an attractive and stylish glass decanter and it comes in a presentation box. It is rich, full bodied and deeper colored than the others, with an attractive sweetness on the finish.
Jonathan Tishbi Brandy, 12 year old
This is an estate brandy named after the owner of the winery, Yonatan Tishbi. It was made from Colombard grapes, grown in Tishbi’s own vineyards, double distilled on its lees in an authentic Charentais Still. It was then aged in oak barrels. It is sold in a traditionally frosted brandy bottle.
The tasting note of IWSC judges is complimentary: “Dark gold with greenish flecks. Nose has honey, wine notes with dried fruit and cinnamon and vanilla. Well rounded mouth with fine, friendly, mellow notes. Fine oak support. Great balance and fine texture. Comforting warmth after the swallow. Spice filled finish.” Nicholas Faith in ‘Classic Brandy’ regarded Tishbi Brandy’s success as a “tribute to its fruity cleanliness.”
Grand Sabra Grand Sabra is an orange flavored brandy produced by macerating fresh, Israeli grown kumquats in 777 Brandy, aged for three years in used wine barrels. The unique bulbous Sabra bottle is a copy of a Phoenician wine flask. It is a sort of kosher Grand Marnier, but has had its own success, winning gold medals in the IWSC in London. The dry citrus nose marries well with the richness of the brandy. It has a pronounced orange aroma, is full bodied with a warm middle palate and an intense lengthy finish.
Of these, only the Carmel 777 and 100 Brandies, Jonathan Tishbi Brandy and Grand Sabra are known in export markets, but each has received awards at the highest level and warm recommendations from international drinks experts. All are kosher and considering the rarity of kosher brandies from elsewhere, they fill a niche in the kosher bar portfolio. Nicholas Faith in ‘The Pocket Guide To Cognacs and Brandies’ wrote: “Israeli distilleries have the enormous advantage of a tied market, for they are the only producers of kosher brandy. Thus orthodox and many unorthodox Jews the world over naturally turn to them.” Regretably, Israel’s brandies tend to be comparatively expensive against their non kosher equivalents and have not succeeded to gain a foothold in export markets.
Israeli brandies are the natural spirit of a wine producing country and they do deserve a little respect. Even though sales are unlikely to return to what they were, there is justified national pride at the international success and no doubt they will continue to be appreciated by those few connoisseurs and brandy lovers, who know what others are missing.
Carmel Winery has just announced the launch of its award-winning premium brandy, the Carmel 100. This quality Israeli brandy was aged for at least eight years in oak barrels. This new release of the Carmel 100 brandy is in honor of the hundredth anniversary of Carmel Winery.
Brandy Carmel 100 is made with Columbard (70%) with the addition of Chenin Blanc and Emerald Riesling. Most of the brandy (75%) was produced with double distillation (pot still) as is common in the Cognac region. A quarter of the blend was distilled in a continuous still. The brandy was aged in the historic Carmel Winery in Rishon L’Tzion in French oaks that were previously used to age wine. The youngest components were aged for eight years and the oldest components were aged for twenty five years.
It sells in Israel for 215 NIS and the master distiller was Mendel Gil. Gil was born in Moldova and has a doctoral degree in wine making from Odessa. He has significant knowledge in brandy making from Crimea. He was also responsible for the Israeli Wine Institute and works at Carmel Winery on their brandy and dessert wines.
I had the opportunity to have a little sniff of this brandy several months ago and, while I am not very knowledgeable about brandy, it seemed enjoyable.
Carmel Winery has been continuously making brandy since 1898. The distillation tower at the Rishon L’Tzion winery has been in continuous use since it was built in 1930. As I mentioned above, the new release of Carmel 100 is in honor of the 100th anniversary of Carmel Winery. In 1998, the Brandy 100 won “Best Brandy Worldwide” at the prestigious international competition of the IWSC in London. In recent years, Carmel Winery has been focused on making quality wines but continues their tradition of making small quantities of quality brandy.
