Whisky and Orthodox Jews

Alan Lazerow is a reader of The Scotch Blog and we correspond often. Recently Alan had been asking a lot of questions about the use of sherry casks during the maturation of Scotch. It was only later that I found out that Alan had his own blog which focuses on Jewish topics - and that he had recently written a very interesting 2-part post on sherry and whisky.

I asked Alan to rewrite his story for The Scotch Blog. I think Orthodox Jews and non-Jews alike will find the story interesting...

Whisky and Orthodox Jews by Alan Lazerow

Judaism and alcohol have close ties. It is customary on every Sabbath and holiday to sanctify the day while holding a glass of wine. Alcohol can be found at most joyous occasions, and Jews even have a special phrase that is said before taking a drink - Lechaim! Because of the ties between Judaism and alcohol, it is not surprising that there are a number of observant Jews who are wine and whisky connoisseurs. However, it is important for these connoisseurs to keep in mind that there may be potential kosher issues with whisky. Rabbis of the past century clearly felt that it was an issue worth addressing, as some of America's foremost Rabbis have written responsa on the topic.

On the surface, it would seem as if there are no kosher issues with Scotch, since all of the ingredients of Scotch (water, barley, & yeast) are natural - there are also no kosher issues with the malting, mashing and distillation processes.

It is during the maturation process that problems arise. The overwhelming majority of Scotch whiskies are matured using a combination of bourbon and sherry casks. Therefore, in an overwhelming majority of Scotch that you drink (and which the Star-K approves!), there is some percentage of sherry-cask matured whisky.

Why is this a problem? Sherry, a Spanish wine produced in Jerez, Spain, is not kosher. Since sherry is produced by a non-Jew, and there is no rabbinical supervision, the wine cannot be labeled kosher.

Kosher and Sherry Casks

Rabbi Pinchas Teitz of Elizabeth, NJ, first reported in 1949 that there may be sherry wine in blended whisky - which would obviously create a problem for observant Jews who are also whisky lovers. It would then follow that any single malt Scotch that is exclusively matured or finished  in sherry casks would pose a problem as well.

Rabbi Teitz raised the issue regarding the permissibility of drinking sherry-infused blended whisky to Rabbi Moshe Feinstein. Rabbi Feinstein, one of the 20th century's great minds regarding Jewish law, had 3 responsa (rabbinical rulings) on the topic.

The following are the major points that Rabbi Feinstein addressed in his responsa.

Nullification by ratio of 1:6 or 1:60?

There is a concept in Jewish law called "bitul", or in English, nullification. This comes into play when forbidden substances become mixed with permitted substances. As a rule, liquids are nullified according to Jewish law by a 1:60 ratio. Case in point: in Judaism, we do not mix milk and meat foods together, ever.  However, if I was making a beef soup and a drop of milk fell in to the soup, it would be nullified on these grounds, assuming that other factors are met (you can't see it, taste, it, etc.), and you could subsequently eat the mixture.

That being said, the Talmud tell us that wine loses its status of wine not by a 1:60 ratio; but rather, a 1:6 ratio.

In Judaism, we make blessings on all foods/drinks before we consume them - there are different blessings for different foods/drinks. A standard blessing is made over most types of drinks - wine however, because of its high status, has its own blessing.
So, there are some Rabbis that say that when the Talmud says that wine is nullified at 1:6, they mean to say that it is nullified in the sense that we no longer make the blessing for wine on this product, but rather, the more generic blessing.

These rabbis also say that while the status changes which blessing is being made, it doesn't change wine's status as being prohibited.

Rabbi Feinstein said differently, and by considering some very technical factors, he said that this wine is completely nullified by a 1:6 ratio.

In reality, it is agreed that there is no actual sherry in the final whisky product. The resulting unique flavors are due to the Spanish oak cask that first the sherry, and subsequently the whisky, is matured in. By the time the new make spirit (pre-matured whisky) is placed in a sherry cask the cask is long dry.

The aforementioned 1:6 ratio would require that more than 16% of a single malt Scotch would be comprised of sherry wine - and we know this is not true.

Nullification on Purpose

By the Jewish rules of nullification, the thing being nullified actually changes status from being 100% prohibited to 100% non-prohibited. However, there is a catch - that one cannot nullify something on purpose. If a little milk accidentally spills in my beef stew, it is nullified - but it is forbidden for me to knowingly and purposefully add milk to the soup. Rabbi Feinstein was asked to comment on the fact that this is exactly what the distilleries are doing -purposefully bringing together permitted and forbidden substances. Rabbi Feinstein answers that that is only a law pertaining to Jews and that as long as the whisky distillery owner isn't Jewish, there is no problem. 

Imparting Taste

We mentioned before that the rules of nullification do not apply when one can taste the forbidden substance. In the beef stew scenario, if I could taste the milk in the stew, even if by numbers it would be nullified, it is forbidden to eat. Rabbi Feinstein address the question in responsa 63 by giving an example: many times people may add a drop of wine/grape juice to their water to sweeten it up - certainly you can taste the difference in the water, but this doesn't necessarily mean that you taste WINE - you taste something different, but not wine. Therefore, regarding whisky, while sherried whiskies certainly have a unique taste to them, Rabbi Feinstein permits the sherry due to the fact that, although you taste something different, it isn't the taste of sherry. Also, as mentioned before very little sherry, if any, ever ends up making its way into the whisky - the unique taste of the whisky is largely due to the Spanish Oak, and not the sherry which the cask previously held.
Conclusion
Observant Jews can find opinions which support both viewpoints - to allow or forbid of the consumption of blended and single malt whiskies which have been matured or finished using sherry casks.
The fascinating thing isn't necessarily the technical details that go in to the ruling; but rather - but the fact that whisky is popular enough among orthodox Jews that some of the great halachic (Jewish law) and Talmudic minds of the 20th century spent hours researching, debating and ruling on the topic.

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Glossary

Sabbath - the 7th day of the week, observed from Friday night to Saturday night, as a day of rest and worship.

Lechaim - literally, "to life" - historically, before people were led to be executed by governments, they were given alcohol to the point of intoxication so that they would be oblivious as to what was going on. Because alcohol has been associated with death, we specifically mention "to life" to point out that this is not the reason we drink alcohol.

Kosher - strict dietary laws and restrictions that Jews observe

Responsa - rabbinical rulings, often compiled into works by author

Talmud - The collection of ancient Rabbinic writings consisting of the Mishnah and the Gemara, constituting the basis of religious authority in Orthodox Judaism

Halachic - of or having to do with Jewish law.

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Alan is an Orthodox Jew who is interested in studying Jewish law. His interests in both Jewish law and whisky led him to the small body of literature on the kosher issues involved with certain whiskies; and some of this research has been outlined in this article. Alan works as a research assistant at the National Institute of Mental Health, and he and his wife of one-year reside in Baltimore.

You can check out Alan's Blog here.

Comments

[Danny The Manny]

As someone who knows nothing about scotch or Orthodoxy, I found this post both informative and very well-written. Mr, Lazerow takes complicated concepts and explains them in easy terms. I was never at all interested in either of these topics before and now I find myself wanting to learn more. Top notch piece indeed.

[Jewboy]

Good job. I'm so proud.

[Mark Gillespie]

Interesting post...one thing that might be of interest is that The Speyside single malt recently was certified as Kosher. The distillery announced that during Whisky Live NY back in April...

[Serge]

Agreed, top notch post. Lots that I didn't know before, not only regarding whisky. Please pass to the author if possible.

[beau]

I think Kosher law and alcoholic beverages is a very interesting topic. A while back, I had the honor of getting answers to questions on kosher wine from the proprietor of the Kosher Wine Review. Read his responses here:
http://basicjuice.blogs.com/basicjuice/2006/04/moshe_on_kosher.html

[Alexis]

In the UK, the accepted opinion relies on Dayan Weiss, then of the Manchester Beth Din (later of the Eidah HaChareidit of Jerusalem, one of the strictest courts in the world), who ruled that all single malt Scotch whiskies are kosher. British Jews certainly enjoy a good dram; whisky is customarily served at the after-services kiddush here.

[DeisCane]

"Sherry, a Spanish wine produced in Jerez, Spain, is not kosher. Since sherry is produced by a non-Jew, and there is no rabbinical supervision, the wine cannot be labeled kosher."

Is this true? Is sherry like dijon and champagne? I know of one kosher sherry. Must it have been produced in Jerez? I never noticed.

[David M. Frost]

Actually, you can get a kosher Tio Pepe sherry direct from Jerez Spain; NB, most Tio Pepe is NOT kosher, so you need to check for the heckscher. Available at your finer kosher wine merchants.