What’s Kosher Alcohol?

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Kosher alcohol must be made without grains and certified as compliant with Jewish dietary laws. Wine requires supervision by a Sabbath-keeping Jew. Look for the Hechsher trademark to identify kosher products. Beer is generally considered kosher, but flavored beers may not be. Hard liquor can be kosher if all manufacturing processes, ingredients, and equipment are considered. Brandy and cognac made from wine may be labeled kosher. Wine must be handled by an Orthodox Jew throughout the entire process to be considered kosher.

Kosher alcohol is alcohol that has been created without grains and has been certified as compliant with Jewish dietary laws. Wine has an extra requirement that the preparation be supervised by a Sabbath-keeping Jew. Kosher foods, including alcohol, can be identified as such by looking for the Hechsher trademark. This is a symbol that is placed on kosher products to indicate that they are truly kosher.

Beer is generally considered kosher alcohol due to the method by which it is brewed and the ingredients it contains. Flavored beers might contain items that are not kosher, and unless the beer is labeled with the hechsher trademark, it is usually not considered kosher. Some forms of beer are brewed with barley and yeast, making them ineligible for the Hechsher brand.

Some types of hard liquor products are kosher. Most hard liquors are made with wheat. The grains aren’t actually in the product, so they may get the kosher seal. There are kosher forms of vodka, scotch, tequila and whiskey. To be approved Kosher, all the manufacturing processes of the liquor, the ingredients used and the equipment used must be considered.

Brandy and cognac are made from wine, so they may be labeled kosher. Without this sign, they should be avoided by those who want kosher alcohol. Gin with no added flavors is acceptable. Some types of rum are acceptable as long as they have a kosher seal. White tequila, also called silver tequila, is acceptable, but brown, gold, and specialty blends are not recommended due to the coloration and additives used in most.

Wine has very specific guidelines to label as kosher alcohol. It has a long history in religious practice. According to Jewish dietary laws, wine is only kosher if it is handled by an Orthodox Jew during the entire process. This includes every stage, from harvesting to fermentation to the bottling process.

Most of the ingredients used in traditional winemaking are considered kosher. Some wines use additional agents as fining agents. Tongs are used in wine to prevent it from appearing during the stabilization process. If a wine is made with fining agents such as dairy casein, gelatin or isinglass, it is not considered kosher. Kosher wine might include egg whites for this process.




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