THE DEATH OF KIDDUSH CLUBS??

This story comes from this week”s Kosher Today.

Is Whiskey Kosher? Some Israeli Rabbis Say No.

Several popular brands of whiskey, including the coveted Johnny Walker brand, are not kosher, at least according to several leading rabbinic authorities here.

The Bnai Brak Rabbinate under Rabbi Moshe Landau recently published an article noting that whiskey is aged in oak barrels, which may have been previously used to produce wine. The aging in old barrels gives the whiskey a different taste than that steeped in newer barrels. The rabbis claimed that since the wine produced in the barrels is not kosher then neither is the whiskey. Among the brands that age whiskey in this way are Johnny Walker, Chivas and Grant’s. Rabbinical authorities had assumed that whiskey was brewed differently than wine and therefore had no concern the two were being mixed. Rabbi Landau’s kashrut certification, which includes Coca Cola Israel, is considered one of the most stringent. The issue was also widely discussed at a recent conference on kosher held in Brussels. Rabbi Akiva Padwa from the London Beth Din”s kashrut division ruled that most of the whiskey brands are kosher, but that some brands undergo a special “finish” in barrels previously used to produce wine. The taste of the wine can still be felt in the drink, thus making it non-kosher, the rabbi said. Rabbi Padwa added that the whiskey”s label indicates whether it had undergone an additional finish, using the words “two wood,” “special finish” or “double matured.” In the US, several rabbis claimed that they had thoroughly investigated the issue and discovered that the oak barrels undergo a process of fire and vaporization, which removes the wine taste. Other rabbis wrote that aging in barrels of non-kosher wines does not disqualify the whiskey. Many Orthodox Jews are for the moment refraining from using whiskey until its kosher status is clear.

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We thought that the issue of oak barrels had been settled a long time ago by a rather major rabbinic figure. Guess we were wrong.

Second, every chareidi affair we have ever attended has always featured some really fine liquor. Nothing has changed, so why the crisis now? Were even the chareidim wrong?

Third, is this a case of what won”t the rabbis do to stop kiddush clubs from operating?

Last of all, accoring to Kosher Today, “Many Orthodox Jews are for the moment refraining from using whiskey until its kosher status is clear.” How many is many? More than sixteen? More than four? Do YOU, gentle reader, know anyone who has refused a good single malt of late? Nah, didn”t think so!

When will it ever end?

rebrapp