Sunday, January 25, 2015

Kosher vs. Kosher

Canadian whiskeys
That could be kosher

 

We blogged about scotch whiskies at Kosher vs. Kosher: Scotch for a makpeed, several times in fact, and about Irish whiskies at Kosher vs. Kosher: Irish whiskey "By the barrel". We also have a blog entry for good, ol' Made-in-America Bourbon

Now it's time to look at Canadian whisky. (As with scotch, no "e" in "whisky.")

Standard caveat: I am not a rabbi nor do I play one on tv. My primary criterion is the cask in which the whisky is aged/matured. My personal level of kashrut is that to be acceptable, the aging must be in either former American Bourbon barrels or virgin casks; whiskey aged in former wine casks is not acceptable in my glasses.

There are a number of brands on the market. (A table follows.) I sent emails or web mails to each of the distilleries that provided that access, asking each:

Which (distillery or brand name) labels are aged/matured SOLELY in either virgin oak casks or former Bourbon barrels; in other words, which of any Which (distillery or brand name) labels are NOT at any time aged in former wine casks?


Within the hour

Actually, in less than an hour after asking the question, I had two (2) responses.

The first to arrive in my inbox was from Greg Lipin of the North of 7 distillery. Mr. Lipin noted that All our whisky is aged in new oak barrels. Our rum is aged in oak barrels but these barrels are reused up to 9 times.

A moment later, an email from Barry Bernstein, a partner with Barry Stein in the Still Waters Distillery that produces the Stalk & Barrel whiskies and brandy. According to Mr. Bernstein, Nearly all our single cask offerings (rye and single malt) are aged solely in ex-bourbon. There are a very few exceptions. You can get details on all our casks at www.stillwatersdistillery.com/barrels.php. If you select “list” from the left side of the screen and then click on a cask, you can find all the information there. I randomly checked several and all were matured either in first-fill ex-Bourbon or new oak. The exceptions to the Bourbon or oak casks were the brandies that are aged in ex-wine casks. (No,. I don't know who is who in the photo lifted from the company website.)

It turns out there are many distilleries north of the border; many - most - are micro, "craft," or boutique ("boutique" for a distillery?) distilleries that have limited production and often the products are available only in Canada. This is especially true in the western provinces.

There are a few "names" in the Canadian whisky business:

Mature whiskey

Canadian whisky, along with Bourbon, scotch, and Irish must "mature" - age - for at least three years. Unless a whisk(e)y states an age, assume that before the candles on the cake burn out, the three-year-old liquid will be in a bottle. There are a few whiskies older than three years, but, as with American Bourbon and sour mash, they are both hard to find and may require the house to be mortgaged.

One whisky, Urban Single Malt Whisky has an unusual approach to aging its product: It includes a piece of barrel in the bottle. According to the distiller, This unique all natural Single Malt Whisky is bottled with part of a cask (French oak barrel) at the families Okanagan Valley distillery in Kelowna, British Columbia. The cask gives the whisky a distinctive taste now but also allows the whisky to continue ageing; each additional week after the bottled date adds approximately six months to the ageing process.

What the agencies hold

cRc: Unflavored Canadian Whisky is acceptable unless aged in wine cask or known to contain on-kosher ingredients

Star-K: The only approved Canadians are Canadian Club, and Crown Royal.

Scroll K lists more NOT approved than approved.

OU does not list any Canadian whiskies.

Bottom Line


Aging methods, as with most things, are subject to change. If you have any doubts about a product's potential to be kosher (see "What agencies hold," above) contact the distillery. In most cases you will get an answer within a few days.












Product ## Distillery Barrel/Cask Source
North of 7 North of 7 Bourbon Email
White Dog North of 7 Bourbon Email
Stalk & Barrel (1) Still Waters Bourbon Email
White Owl (all) Highwood Distillers Bourbon Email
Last Mountain Last Mountain Bourbon Email
Strait Whisky Myriad View Distillery Bourbon Email
Lucky Bastard (2) Lucky Bastard Distillery Bourbon Email
Shelter Point (5) Shelter Point Bourbon Email
Canadian Club (3) Beam, Bourbon Web
Crown Royal (4) Diageo Bourbon Email
Canadian Mist Canadian Mist Whiskey Web
Canadian Rums Distillery Barrel/Cask Source
Leatherback Rum North of 7 New oak Web
Strait Rum 40% Myriad View Distillery Bourbon Web
Strait Rum 57.1% Myriad View Distillery Bourbon Web

(1) Except brandies (per web site)
(2) Not yet released (per email)
(3) Except Sherry Cask (per web site)
(4) Canadian Club: All except Canadian Club Sherry Cask (per emails)
(5) Aged in former Jack Daniels barrels (per email)
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