“After the disaster of October 7, I decided I would do everything I could to support the soldiers and the wounded,” said Dror Hartman, 55, of Tiberias, whose 23-year-old son is currently serving on emergency reserve duty.
For Hartman, a longtime whisky enthusiast immersed in the world of spirits, that support naturally took the form of whisky.
“Because I’m a whisky lover who lives and breathes this world, my way of helping the soldiers came through that love of alcohol,” he said.
During the war, Hartman contacted Tomer Goren, a distiller at Milk & Honey, and proposed creating a special bottling that could be distributed to soldiers.
“They already knew me because our relationship began during COVID, when I decided to buy a cask to support them,” Hartman said. “So they immediately agreed to cooperate.”
Hartman chose a special whisky cask that had been aged for more than five years with cardamom. The result was a limited run of 200 bottles dubbed “The Warrior’s Rest.”
Dror Hartman
“They were gone within 15 minutes, I’m not exaggerating,” he said. “All the bottles were distributed with love to soldiers in the field and wounded troops in hospitals.”
The bottles were delivered through logistics personnel from the various units. Hartman declined to provide further details about the distribution, but said the responses, even if delayed by the realities of wartime, were overwhelmingly positive.
“Everyone I spoke with told me how happy they were to receive a gift that was a little more interesting than a snack or chocolate,” he said. “I think in many cases they were surprised to receive a small bottle of whisky.”
‘The Warrior’s Rest.’ The whisky was aged for five years with cardamom
(Photo: Dror Hartman)
Asked which encounter moved him most, Hartman recalled an event organized for a Paratroopers unit during a respite in Caesarea.
“We put together a special evening for them with whisky tastings, meat, cigars and performances,” he said. “I saw how much good it did for them compared with the exhausted state they arrived in.”
Many of the soldiers have remained in touch with him since, he said.
“Some come to visit me, or I go to them. A real personal connection was created.”
From a wartime gesture to a new whisky career
For his second project, Hartman released a “Single Malt X Coffee” edition intended for soldiers returning from Lebanon and Syria, produced in cooperation with the Verstill distillery and Yinon Tamir.
“Unfortunately, this time too, quite a few wounded soldiers received the bottles in hospitals around the country,” he said.
Both editions proved highly popular among the soldiers.
The response convinced Hartman that the time had come to leave his previous work behind and go “all in” on whisky as an independent bottler.
He is now completing a special project that will be launched exclusively at Whisky Live 2026: what he describes as Israel’s first blended malt whisky, combining spirits from the Milk & Honey and Ruach distilleries.
“I invested enormous effort in convincing two of the country’s leading distilleries to trust me and create something new together under my brand,” Hartman said.
“I’m very pleased with the result, and the launch will effectively take place at the exhibition. I hope my son, who is currently on an emergency reserve call-up, will manage to get leave and be there with me.”
Whisky Live will take place Sept. 2-3 from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Expo Tel Aviv.