Today’s story is about freedom. Freedom for a nation, a culture, and a people that had been strapped in bondage for generations. A people whose suffering was so great that even God himself could hear their cries.

This is the Promised Land. It is the drink I have made for you today inspired by the book of Exodus. A story which probably needs no introduction. But one I’m going to introduce anyway. It is the story of how the ancient Israelites were led out of slavery in Egypt and into a land flowing with milk and honey. It is a drink that is made with Irish cream (milk), honey whisky (honey), Arak, and Angostura bitters.

The Exodus is one of the most well-known stories of all time, and not just among Jews and Christians. It tells of a Hebrew named Moses, who was born into slavery and, as the story goes, was then placed into a basket and sent down the Nile River to escape the execution order Pharaoh had enacted against all infant Hebrew males to suppress the population.

After surviving the journey down the Nile, Moses was found and adopted by Pharaoh’s own family, growing up alongside royalty—the very people that tried to have him killed. Even so, he was treated as a prince. That is until one day, when he killed an Egyptian taskmaster and fled the land. In his exile, he encountered the Abrahamic god in the burning bush—the bush that the book of Exodus describes as being on fire, but not being consumed. So after being a slave, a royal, and an outcast, Moses became a prophet and began advocating for the freedom of the Jews. Moses pleaded with Pharaoh to let his people go, but Pharaoh didn’t listen. So God unleashed 10 plagues against Egypt. And, interestingly, each plague directly attacked the reputed power of one of the Egyptian gods.

Pharaoh held out a long time, but after water turned to blood, frogs, gnats, and flies infested the land, livestock died, festering boils broke out among the people, hail fell from the sky, locusts devoured crops, darkness covered the land, and the firstborn children of the Egyptians found themselves suddenly deceased, he relented (well, at least long enough for the Hebrews to leave town). Over the next 40 years, the Hebrews wandered the desert in a period of purification, until finally, the entered the land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the land of milk and honey.

Now that is the story as it is told in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). But how does it compare with other historical data? Well, there is a lot of speculation. Some scholars believe the story to be entirely a myth. Some believe it to be fact. Some think it’s somewhere in between. One commentary I found interesting was that of Professor Israel Knohl of the University of Jerusalem. According to Professor Knohl, the story in the Bible is very similar to an Egyptian story discovered on an ancient stele in Egypt.

In the Egyptian story, written by an Egyptian priest named Manetho, there was an uprising in the ranks of Egypt’s enemies until one man, called Moses came to power. While this Moses ruled, he also defaced the Egyptian gods out spite until he was ousted by the Pharaoh Amenophis and his son Rameses.

Now mind you, there are a lot of holes in the story. First of all, there was never a father-son pair named Amenophis and Rameses in Egypt’s royal line. Secondly, the story refers to the Israelites as Hyksos, which is historically the term for non-Hebrew, but still foreign, Egyptians. Despite these and other differences, the similarities are interesting. Considering the well-documented tension between the Hebrews and the Egyptians, regardless of the story you believe to be true, I think there’s enough history to give it credence.

Honestly, there is so much more history we could talk about. Especially given the ramifications of this story on the rest of the world forever, but if I did that we’d never get to the drink. So what do you say we fast forward a bit and dive right in to today?

Our first ingredients here are representative of the description given to Canaan, the land of Milk and Honey. So I thought it’d be fitting for us to combine elements of both. We’ll start by pouring 1oz of Irish cream as our milk and 1oz of Jack Daniels Honey as our Honey. And actually if you stopped right now, this would taste great. Both of these liquors are delicious on their own. But I think we need a Middle Eastern flair. So let’s introduce our surprise ingredient, Arak. When I was looking at regional alcohols produced in the Middle East, it was very difficult to find due to the Sunni Islamic religious beliefs of that dominate the land and strictly prohibit the consumption of alcohol.

This bottle of Arak however, comes from Lebanon, which borders with Israel so I feel it’s the closest to a true regional liquor. We’ll put in only ¼ of an ounce because this stuff really packs a punch. As its made from grapes and flavored with anise, it has a very potent licorice flavor.

Finally, we will add in some bitters in honor of the Seder meal that many Jews eat during Passover, which also includes bitters. Finally, mix them all together, and there you have it, the Promised Land. Now that looks like a deceptive shot of Irish Cream, but I think it will have a lot more depth and flavor. Let’s see if the promised land is as good as advertised.