Riachi Athyr Cask Strength Lebanese Single Malt Whisky 700ml

Athyr Cask Strength is the full-power expression of Lebanon's first single malt whisky, bottled without dilution so the spirit arrives exactly as it left the barrel. It is a landmark for the Levant: before Athyr, no distillery had ever produced a single malt whisky in Lebanon, a country long celebrated for arak and mountain vineyards but never for malt.

The whisky takes its name from the Phoenician moon goddess, a nod to the ancient seafaring civilization that traded from Lebanon's coast. Behind it stands the Riachi family, fermenting and distilling on Mount Lebanon since 1839 and now in its eighth generation. That long apprenticeship in wine and spirits shaped a whisky rooted in its own place rather than borrowed from Scotland's playbook.

Production begins with Lebanese malted barley dried in the Mediterranean sun, a step believed to be unique in the whisky world. After fermentation and distillation, the spirit matures in Lebanese oak, and the house also draws on the region's centuries-old tradition of aging in clay terracotta vessels. The result is a malt of unusual texture and concentration, layered with honeyed, fruited, and roasted flavors that speak clearly of the Levant.

At cask strength, Athyr rewards a patient glass. Taste it neat first, then add water a few drops at a time and watch fig and roasted coffee unfold into softer honey and toasted oak. It belongs with drinkers chasing genuinely new terroir in single malt, and it makes a striking pour in a flight beside whiskies from Scotland, Japan, or Taiwan.

• Size: 700ml
• Proof: 110 (55% ABV); cask-strength batches can vary slightly
• Age or Class: Cask strength single malt, no age statement
• Origin: Lebanon
• Distillery: Riachi Winery & Distillery, established 1839
• Style/Class: Lebanese single malt whisky
• Composition: Sun-dried Lebanese malted barley
• Cask/Aging: Matured in Lebanese oak; terracotta vessels part of the house aging tradition
• Tasting Notes: Black forest honey, dried fig, roasted coffee, toasted oak, warm spice