Top 10 Distilleries in Israel
Israel's craft distillery sector has grown with remarkable speed since the country's first craft distillery licences were issued in the 2000s. In a short period, Israeli distillers have produced whisky, gin, vodka, and arak of sufficient quality to attract international attention and, in some cases, critical acclaim from major spirits publications. The country's geography — ranging from Mediterranean coastal plain to Negev desert to the Galilee hills — provides a diversity of climates and ingredients that distillers have been quick to exploit. Israeli whisky in particular has benefited from the country's warm climate, which drives relatively fast maturation, producing spirits with rich colour and wood influence at ages that would be considered very young by Scottish standards.
The Jewish concept of terroir (not a Jewish term, but the idea maps directly onto Zionist agricultural philosophy) runs through much of Israeli craft spirits production: a preoccupation with local ingredients, specific regional water sources, and the expression of a particular place in the bottle. Find Israeli distilleries on the map to see how production is distributed between the Galilee, the Carmel coast, the Judean hills, and the Negev.
1. Milk and Honey Distillery, Tel Aviv
Milk and Honey (M&H) is Israel's most internationally celebrated distillery and the operation that put Israeli whisky on the global map. Founded in Tel Aviv in 2012 and beginning whisky production in 2014, the distillery named itself after the biblical description of the Land of Israel. M&H produces single malt whisky in a country with no whisky tradition whatsoever, using imported malted barley, water from the Israeli water grid, and a range of ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and locally sourced wine casks for maturation. The Tel Aviv climate dramatically accelerates maturation — the distillery's warehouses can reach high temperatures in summer — producing mature-tasting whisky at relatively young ages. M&H has won awards at the World Whiskies Awards and exports globally.
2. Golani Distillery, Katzrin, Golan Heights
Golani is a craft distillery operating on the Golan Heights plateau, an area known primarily for wine and cattle farming, at elevation above the Galilee. The distillery produces single malt whisky and gin, drawing on Golan spring water of exceptional quality and incorporating volcanic minerals in a way the producers argue is perceptible in the final spirit. The highland climate of the Golan — cooler winters and lower summer extremes than the coastal plain — creates a slower maturation environment than Tel Aviv or the Negev, and early releases from Golani suggest a spirit that may develop greater complexity over time as a result. The Golan's unique political status (Israeli-administered since 1967) adds an additional layer of interest for visitors.
3. Legends Distillery, Galilee Region
Legends Distillery operates in the Galilee in northern Israel, one of the most agriculturally diverse regions of the country and an area with a long winemaking tradition — several of Israel's best-regarded wineries are based here. The distillery produces gin using Galilean botanicals including locally grown herbs, citrus from the coastal plain, and wild plants from the Galilee hills. The gin program has attracted attention for its use of native Israeli botanicals including za'atar (wild thyme), sumac, and locally grown pomelo alongside the standard gin botanical palette. Legends has developed export distribution into the United States and several European markets.
4. Uri Blomdorf Distillery (The Whisky Distillery), Nahariya
The Uri Blomdorf operation in Nahariya in northern Israel is among the country's pioneer craft distillers, having begun production before the current wave of Israeli whisky investment. The distillery uses pot still distillation and a range of cask types, with particular attention paid to ex-wine casks from Israeli wineries. The warm coastal Mediterranean climate of northern Israel's Mediterranean coast — wetter than the Negev and more temperate than Tel Aviv in summer extremes — creates a distinctive maturation environment. Early releases from the distillery have been reviewed positively by Israeli spirits critics and have developed a following among the country's growing community of whisky enthusiasts.
5. Pelter Winery and Distillery, Golan Heights
Pelter is primarily known as a Golan Heights winery producing Israeli wine of international quality, but the operation has established a distillery arm that produces brandy from its own grape production alongside experimental spirits. The distillery uses the same grapes grown for wine production, distilling the lesser vintages or using pomace to produce grape-based spirits that reflect the Golan's volcanic terroir. Brandy production at wineries is a logical extension of existing wine infrastructure, and Pelter's investment in distillation represents a broader trend in Israeli viticulture toward spirits as a complement to wine.
6. Kawar Arak, Galilee
Arak — the anise-flavoured grape spirit traditional across the Levant — is produced by several Arab Israeli producers in the Galilee region, where a significant Arab population maintains traditional distillation practices. Kawar Arak, produced by the Christian Arab Kawar family in Shefaram, is among the most respected commercial expressions of Israeli arak and is made using the traditional Middle Eastern method: grape spirit distilled twice, with anise seeds added in the second distillation, and then proofed down with spring water before bottling. Good arak should be clear, strongly anise-scented, and smooth — becoming cloudy (louching) when water is added, a characteristic of the anise essential oil coming out of solution.
7. Gvaot Distillery, Judean Hills
The Judean Hills west of Jerusalem are an increasingly important wine region, and Gvaot (Hilltops) is a winery-based operation that has added distillation to its existing wine production. The distillery makes brandy and grape-based spirits from locally grown Mediterranean varietals including Carignan, Malbec, and Chardonnay, reflecting the diverse plantings of the Judean Hills wine producers. The altitude (several hundred metres above sea level, with cooler temperatures than the coastal plain) and limestone-rich soils create conditions that produce wines and spirits of distinctive mineral character.
8. Ben Zion Brewery and Distillery, Haifa
Haifa's Carmel Mountain region has attracted several craft producers in recent years, and Ben Zion is among the distillery operations that have taken advantage of the area's relatively cooler Mediterranean climate and access to high-quality local ingredients. The distillery produces gin and vodka alongside limited whisky releases, drawing on botanicals foraged from the Carmel slopes — including native pine, carob pods, and various Mediterranean wild herbs — as primary flavour agents. The Carmel Coast, from Haifa south to the Crocodile River, provides a distinctive botanical environment that is beginning to establish an identity in Israeli craft spirits production.
9. Omer Distillery, Negev Desert
The Negev desert is an unlikely location for whisky production, but high-altitude sites in the northern Negev — particularly around Ramat Hovav and the Negev highlands — have been explored by Israeli distillers seeking the most extreme possible maturation environments. The diurnal temperature swings of desert environments (hot days, cold nights) dramatically accelerate the interaction between spirit and wood in the barrel, extracting flavour compounds at a rate that can compress years of normal maturation into months. Several experimental Israeli distillers have been exploring desert maturation as a conscious production technique, with results that are provocative if sometimes polarising among traditional whisky enthusiasts.
10. The Seven Seventy Distillery, Central Israel
Seven Seventy is among Israel's younger craft operations, established in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area and producing gin and vodka for the rapidly growing Israeli cocktail bar market. The distillery's gin uses Israeli-sourced botanicals including Dead Sea salt mineral water, Arava desert herbs, and locally grown citrus alongside conventional gin botanical components. The Dead Sea salt element — used in dilution water rather than as a botanical additive — is an unusual production choice that adds a mineral edge to the spirit's finish. Seven Seventy has positioned itself within Tel Aviv's vibrant food and beverage scene and supplies several of the city's leading cocktail bars directly.