For many years, many kosher consumers took it for granted that certain spirits were automatically kosher and many indeed were.
But thanks to an ongoing review and discussions by the Association of Kashrus Organizations (AKO), new standards are constantly being adopted and refined.
There are four types of Tequila, for example, and prior to the review it was believed that only one Blanco may be consumed without certification but the others required certification because of such concerns as color, flavour and the addition of glycerine.
Not so, says the current review.
The committee recommends that “unflavoured tequila be allowed without hashgacha, regardless of class and category, unless the label states that it was aged in wine casks.”
Rum, say the rabbis, consists of ingredients that “are largely innocuous” and should be permitted without certification, save for those aged in wine casks.
The review recommends that Gin, which is vodka flavoured with juniper berries and other botanicals, be accepted from brand name companies without certification. Flavoured gin, however, requires certification.
It has not reached a conclusion on Canadian Whisky, which it only accepts with reliable certification.
Finally, the AKO review recommends that any flavoured beer should require certification.
It should be emphasized that these committee recommendations are as yet to be adopted as policy and consulting local rabbis is still advised.
Are quoting the same CRC standards that also say that any clear unflavored vodka is ok without a hechsher?
Look at the CRC guidelines for all these mashkes and you will see that the above post is nothing new.
However, people need to be much more careful when it comes to rum, not for the wine cask as much as for the cognac . Also, liqueurs such as Chambord have Cognac in them.
Pretending that it’s all good is not what “Ein machazikin issura” means. You are talking about companies that make so many products, the chances of it being kosher are slim to none. Let’s take Skyy vodka as an example. This product is produced in California. It is then put into a truck and sent to the Wild Turkey plant in the middle of nowhere at least a 3 or 4 day drive away. So you are saying there is no reason to think that the truck that this vodka is gonna sit in for at least half of a week… Read more »
The Shulchan Aruch says, “Ein machazikin issura,” which means that Hashem isn’t asking us to assume that something prohibited happened. There are so many “what ifs,” but kashrus is a matter for halacha, not human fantasies. Also, deciding that something has a chance of being prohibited based on assumptions is not a hiddur mitzvah.
This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. How can anyone that actually cares about kashrus say that a processed food item does not need a hechsher. If canned beans, dried figs and diced butternut squash need a hechsher then a product which is cooked, stored, filtered, transported and bottled absolutely needs one. What else was distilled in the same keilim? What else was fermented in the same keilem? What else was stored in those keilim? What else was transported in the same trucks? All of these things take more than 24 hours making them assur through kavush. They… Read more »
Yes, grain neutral spirits
What about Gin for Pesach? Isn’t there something about one of the ingredients that is not kosher for Passover?
It’s not from a Kashrus agency
I find it rare that kashrus organizations say that something doesn’t need hashgocha, and it’s refreshing to hear.