Naturally, we’ll start with a light alcoholic dance, at least in terms of character and personality.
The excellent gin brand has wisely—and continues to wisely—refresh itself over the years with limited editions. The dosages are reasonable, not gimmicky, and the range of flavors ultimately poured into glasses doesn’t go wild but is born from an intelligent process of thought and exploration.
Hendrick’s Grand Cabaret, in this context, represents a slightly wilder yet still charming edition that has arrived in the country with a somewhat infuriating delay. It was crafted by Master Distiller Lesley Gracie, who leveraged her "curiosity pantry" into a time machine that landed straight in the dance clubs and joie de vivre of 1920s Paris. She drew inspiration from Eau de Vie, the popular "water of life" drink of the time (which itself combined gin with fruit and rose aroma).
The result is a slightly more liberated Hendrick’s gin, aligning with the theme of "dreamers, artists, and free spirits" that the company defined as its target audience.
Hendrick’s Grand Cabaret
It naturally contains juniper and cucumber but also has a sweeter fruitiness and a more pronounced herbal presence. Its characteristic strength (43.4% alcohol) and excellent mixability create a drink that moves smoothly and naturally from traditional tonic mixes to more complex cocktails. Cabaret travels all the way from Banffshire to Paris. Even Grand.
Price: NIS 166.
The tasting session from Global Wine & Spirits appropriately concludes with the new special edition from the legendary American whiskey brand. Yes, sometimes that word fits perfectly.
Jack Daniel’s comes from Lynchburg, Tennessee—deep in the American South—and holds a dual title: the world’s best-selling whiskey, produced in the oldest registered distillery in its state. It is flexible and open to change on one hand, yet entirely anchored in history on the other.
Now, of course, it remains only to continue this duality—preserving the tradition of production and the established processes that have proven themselves while occasionally innovating with an intriguing release that doesn’t stray too far from the ritual. In other words, Jack Daniel’s Bonded.
The name itself is derived from the historic standard designed to ensure whiskey quality by meeting several criteria (Bottle in Bond)—distillation at a single distillery in a single process, aging for at least four years in supervised warehouses, and a minimum of 50% alcohol content.
Within this framework, the Bonded editions were created (caramel-oak aromas, brown sugar flavors, lightly smoky finish), along with Rye (70% rye, with fruity aromas and flavors and a peppery finish), and Triple Mash, a unique triple blend of whiskey (60% Jack Daniel’s Tennessee, 20% Jack Daniel’s Rye, and 20% Jack Daniel’s American Malt). It has a notably strong presence, deep in flavor, sweet in both aroma and sip, and above all, exceptionally warm—almost immediately.
Price: NIS 175.