Attorney-turned-entrepreneur Justin Lubin, creator of Milk & Honey cream liqueur, is quick to express that he’s privileged with the opportunity to bring his unique product to market and talk to people about his smooth, creamy drink which he boasts as the world’s first cream liqueur made with date honey.
Lubin discovered subtly sweet date honey while living in Israel, working for an aquaculture company. “While there, I really got into things that had to do with the land,” Lubin said. “What I discovered was that the honey from ‘the land of milk and honey’ did not come from bees. It was date honey, so I wondered what those would taste like together.”
Lubin was wowed by the flavor combination of date honey and milk. His five children drank it every day. Things didn’t work out with the aquaculture company, so in 2014 Lubin moved his family back to their Sherman Park home in Milwaukee. He was a practicing attorney in California, and in Milwaukee he founded Step Ahead Tutors prior to working in aquaculture, but Lubin wasn’t sure what his next move would be.
In the meantime, he searched for date honey in natural food stores and couldn’t find it in America. Seeing a void, he considered marketing an authentic, non-alcoholic milk and date honey beverage like he enjoyed in Israel, but he knew introducing Americans to an unknown gourmet dairy item was too risky of a business venture.
Then Lubin, inspired by his family’s legacy, came up with a twist—add alcohol. Lubin’s great-grandfather was Papa “Mo” Simms, a New England bootlegger who sold hooch to speakeasies in South Boston during Prohibition. Once Prohibition ended, Simms turned his illicit venture into a legitimate liquor distributor. Today, Lubin’s cousins operate the company.
Lubin presented his idea for date honey cream liqueur to his East Coast cousins. “They wrote back saying that cream liquors are hot right now,” Lubin recalled. Encouraged, Lubin tested the first batch of Milk & Honey in January 2015. Extensive efforts went into designing the bottle’s elegant black-and-white sleeve, and Lubin officially introduced Milk & Honey to Milwaukee June 1, 2017.
Naming the product came easily. Lubin is spiritual and said that “milk and honey” is code for “love and blessings.” It’s made with premium neutral grain spirits, cream from an upstate New York dairy, and date honey sourced near the Sea of Galilee. A slow sip of Milk & Honey is silky with a hint of sweetness, with 30% less sugar than other cream liqueurs. Those that typically shy away from cream liqueurs because of that heavy sweetness will likely enjoy Milk & Honey.
Milk & Honey can be mixed in coffee or with good-quality spirits for a tasty assortment of cocktails. Recipes on the website suggests blending Milk & Honey with Jameson Irish whiskey for the Perfect Irish; with Jagermeister for The H-Bomb; or adding angostura bitters to make Devil’s Milk.
Milk & Honey is real cream liquor, so if it’s mixes with something acidic, it will curdle. “Milk & Honey makes a great spirit shine, so use good spirits,” Lubin advised.
Milk & Honey is served at bars such as Balzac, and it’s available retail at Otto’s, Discount Liquor, Ray’s, Sendik’s, Festival Foods and Woodman’s.
With the holidays approaching, Lubin wishes love and blessings to everyone, and he reminds us of the “Milk & Honey rule:” Enjoy it with people you love.
For more information, drink recipes and where to find, visit realmilkandhoney.com.
