Did you know: Israel distills whiskey?

Israel is known for many things, including distilling drinkable water from the sea, but few know that Israel also distills whiskey. On March 11, Israeli Talia Garber will enlighten us with an Israeli whiskey-tasting program.

Although the event will be online, Town Wine and Spirits is making a mini-set of Israeli whiskeys available for those who want to join in the tasting. But the Zoom program should be enjoyable even for those who just want to watch as Garber takes us on a journey “From Scotland to the Holy Land.”

Before becoming a shlichah/Israeli emissary in the Washington, D.C., area, Garber worked at the Whiskey Bar & Museum, in Tel Aviv, Israel, where she refined her love and knowledge of whiskey. Garber doesn’t only like to drink whiskey – she enjoys talking about it too. She has been conducting whiskey tastings in the D.C. area and recently began to do so on Zoom as well.

The four whiskeys that will be sampled are from the Milk & Honey Whiskey Distillery, in Jaffa, Israel. Their single malt whiskeys, made in Israel’s warm climate, take on unique flavors that differ somewhat from their Old-World counterparts.

A mini-set of four small bottles of the whiskeys to be sampled is available at Town Wine and Spirits for $28.99. People may purchase the sets at the store, at 179 Newport Ave., East Providence, or at the Alliance’s Dwares Jewish Community Center, at 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, or have it delivered for a small fee. More information about purchasing the mini-set is available upon registering for the Zoom program.

Before becoming a whiskey expert, Garber was a military photographer in the Home Front Command unit, filming, editing and running Israel’s Emergency Television Broadcasting Studio. She is currently the community shlichah at Congregation B’nai Tzedek, in Potomac, Maryland.

“There is no such thing as someone who doesn’t like whiskey. There is only someone who hasn’t found the right whiskey yet,” Garber said.

Registration opens on Feb. 24 on the Jewish Alliance website. The program without the whiskeys is free. For more information, contact Or Cohen, Rhode Island’s shlichah, at ocohen@jewishallianceri.org.

The program is part of the Israeli Culture Series, which usually takes place on the second Wednesday of each month. This program will be held on Zoom on Thursday, March 11, at 6 p.m.

LARRY KATZ (lkatz@jewishallianceri.org) is the director of Jewish Life and Learning at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.