THIS IS “PART 2” OF MY POST “Can whiskey aged in a wine cask be OK for a makpeed?” post of February 22, 2018.1
The question raised was: Is Irish whiskey or scotch whisky kosher if it is aged in a cask that formerly held wine?
The reason Irish or scotch whiskeys are aged or “matured” in wine casks is so the whiskey will absorb some of the wine’s residual color and flavor.
The rule of 1/60th cannot apply – at least as this scrivener is concerned – since the wine does not “accidentally” enter the whiskey as a drop of milk might fall into a meat soup. Similarly, a meat dish cooked in a dairy pot is not acceptable to most observant Jews (and vice versa, of course, a dairy disk cooked in a meat vessel).2
But, it seems, the majority of Ashkenazi rabbis follow the “don’t ask, don’t tell” philosophy.
”DON’T ASK, DON’T TELL” basically means that, for Irish and scotch whiskeys, “if the label doesn’t state “aged in a wine cask” (or similar words) then they accept the beverage as “kosher.”
A makpeed will contact the distiller and put the question directly: “Is the product aged in a former wine cask?”
One of the most popular scotches found in U.S. synagogues is Chivas Regal.
According to the folks that make Chivas Regal, some of the scotches blended into the product are aged in wine barrels. The Star-K “approves” all Chivas Regal products accept “Extra.”3
To this scrivener’s mind, and to a Sefardi rabbi I know, that means Chivas Regal is “not suitable for synagogue consumption.”
To be fair, R. Zvi Holland of the Star-K wrote that whiskeys aged in wine casks are allowed by the Shulhan Aruk.4 I am not a rabbi and I don’t play one on tv, but while I accept R. Holland’s source, I do not accept the process (aging whiskey in a wine cask).
I am not overly concerned with this or that whiskey being aged in a wine cask since I know there are options; options that the distillers have satisfied me are not aged in a wine cask.
AS AN ASIDE Given Israel’s growing prominence in viticulture, perhaps the distillers who insist on maturing their products in wine casks should buy their casks from wineries producing kosher wines. Problem solved.
The cRc apparently depends on the “Chief Rabbi of Ireland” – who in fact is the Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of the British Commonwealth (including the London Bet Din, KLBD).
The KLBD page5 states “All Scotch and Irish Whiskey is approved. For further information see www.kosher.org.uk/article/are-all-whiskies-kosher. KLBD certified whiskies are matured exclusively in non-wine casks. The products listed are KLBD certified. ” That leaves me wondering: If a whiskey is “approved” why isn’t it “certified,” and what is the difference?
On another KLBD page6, the organization offers:
Ordinary Scotch Whisky whether Single Malt or Blended without any mention of the use of sherry, port or other wine casks on the label or marketing literature, can be consumed confidently without any Halachic concerns relating to potential contact with ex-wine casks. No additives to Scotch Whisky are permitted, with the exception of Caramel Colour which is kosher.
As far as Irish Whiskey is concerned, as a direct result of the work of the KLBD with the distillers, Irish legislation has been changed and it is no longer permitted to add flavour enhancers (including those which are wine based) to Irish whiskey. This applies to all whiskey bottled in Ireland since mid 2009.
When the Bushmills’ distillery was queried, the response was “The majority of Bushmills brands contain whiskey matured in both bourbon and sherry, port or madeira casks however I am delighted to say that the following brands have been awarded Kosher status by the Chief Rabbinate of Ireland.” The four products are Bushmills Original, Black Bush, Bushmills 10 year old single malt and 12 year old Distillery Reserve. (Red Bush, claimed to be aged only in Bourbon barrels may be a “young” product, with aging less than 9 years.).
Note that the Bushmills email did NOT state that the four products are matured only in Bourbon barrels.
The problem with Irish whiskeys is that some whiskeys have a maturation in Bourbon barrels for more than the minimum three years. Whiskeys more than 10 years old might have spent time in a wine cask.
Star-K’s Irish liquor listing7 seems to reflect the 2009 aging law. In the screen capture below from the Star-K site, all the products aged in excess of 10 years are listed as not approved. The caveat: Star-K approves Irish whiskeys aged in wine casks (see R. Holland’s comments, ibid.) and is “approved” the equivalent of “certified”? If not, what is the difference?
The cRc site8 lists both “recommended” and “not recommend” Irish whiskies. According to the site, The cRc listings of recommended Irish Whiskies follows a stricter standard than the one listed above, and only includes Irish Whiskies that are certified and/or are known to not have any contact with wine or wine casks.
Interestingly, only four whiskeys rated cRc’s recommendation: Bushmills - Red Bush, Knappogue Castle - 12 Year, Midleton - Barry Crockett Legacy, and The Irishman - 12 Year. All Bushmills products, except Red Bush, were “not recommended”; Jameson products all fell into the “not recommended” category.
As for scotch, the cRc states The cRc policy is that Scotch is permitted unless the label states that it is aged in a wine cask, has a special finish, or an extra maturation. It then adds the caveat appended to the Irish list. The only Chivas Regal product on the cRc list is Chivas Regal Extra, and that is on the “not recommended” list.
Bottom Line
The bottom line for a makpeed is: “Ask the distiller a specific question and make certain the response provides the specific answer” (unlike Bushmills).
The question needs to be ask of all whiskeys, even Irish aged less than 10 years (since an older whiskey may be blended in – albeit that is unlikely), and certainly all scotch.
Interestingly, aging other potables in wine casks is gaining a following. WineEnthusiast9 lists a number of products aged in wine casks.
By the way, “scotch” is the whisky (sans “e”) or a product from 3M, “Scot” is a Scottish person.
1. http://tinyurl.com/y9zsljny
2. The cRc list of certifying agencies around the world (http://www.crcweb.org/agencies.pdf) includes two names that may be Sefardi or Mizrachi (R. Mordechai Aberge, R. Abraham Srugo); all others clearly are Ashkenaz.
3. https://www.star-k.org/resource/list/UTM1YXYE/Scotch
4. Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Daya 137:4 (R. Holland’s spelling)
5. https://www.theus.org.uk/koshersearch
6. http://www.kosher.org.uk/article/are-all-whiskies-kosher
7. https://www.star-k.org/resource/list/ZSSWWFVQ/Irish_Whiskey
8. http://www.crcweb.org/LiquorList.pdf
9. https://www.winemag.com/2011/04/04/wine-cask-finished-spirits/
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