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Kosher Liquor List

Acceptable Liquor List

Beer

Unflavored Beers
All unflavored beers, domestic and imported, with no additives listed on the ingredient label are acceptable, even without a Kosher certification. This applies to both USA and imported beers, including non-alcoholic and dark beers.

Redbridge gluten-free beer from Anheuser-Busch is kosher and pareve.

Many breweries are coming out with specialty brews that have additives; don't assume that all varieties are acceptable - check the label.

Miller's Chill Lime Beer is now certified kosher by the OU.

Mackeson Triple Stout Beer is not recommended due to the additives and its dairy ingredients!

Flavored Beers
The following flavored beers are currently certified Kosher (under the Vaad of Greater Detroit - even without a hechsher on the product).

Saranac

all products

Brooklyn Brewery

only those products produced in Utica, NY

Pete's Brewing

all products

Matt Brewing

all products

The following beers from Samuel Adams, The Boston Beer Company, are Star-K Kosher/Pareve, even without the Star-K on the label.

All products listed below are Yoshon if sell by date is no later than March 2011.

Black Lager 

Blackberry Witbier

Hardcore

Boston Ale  

Boston Lager   

Brown Ale   

Cherry Wheat

Coastal Wheat

Cranberry Lambic 

Cream Stout 

Double Bock

Grain

Hefeweizen 

Holiday Porter  

Honey Porter

Imperial Stout

Imperial White Ale

Irish Red Ale

Latitude 48

Nobel Pilsner

Noble Pils

Light 

Midnight  

Octoberfest 

Old Fezziwig  

Pale Ale 

Raspberry

Dunkle Weizen

Summer Ale   

White Ale  

 Winter Lager

 

 

The following beers manufactured by the Spoetzl Brewery under the Shiner label are certified kosher by the Orthodox Vaad of Dertoit, MI even without kosher logo on label.

Bock

Blonde

Bohemian Black Lager

Hefeweizen

Light

Holiday Cheer

Smokehaus

101

Frost1

Kosmos Reserve

 

 

The following beers are under the supervision of the Kosher Australia Party, even without any kosher marking on the label:

  • Coopers Sparkling Ale
  • Coopers Best Extra Stout
  • Coopers Special Old Stout
  • Coopers Premium Lager
  • Coopers Extra Strong Vintage Ale
  • All varieties of Homebrew kits

 

Bourbon

Several brands of whiskey are now being processed with possible kosher sensitive concerns. Some are adding honey or other flavors while others are now being aged in wine casks. Consumers can determine the kosher status by reading the label of each bottle. If there are no obvious kosher sensitive concerns and there are no chometz concerns, the whiskey would be acceptable.

The following are some examples of recommended bourbons.
Flavored varieties are not recommended.

Bookers

Maker’s Mark

Basil Hayden

Old Crow

Bakers

Old Granddad

Evan Williams

Elijah Craig

Knob Creek

Wild Turkey (Not Wild Turkey liqueur)

Heaven Hill

Black Maple Hill

Jack Daniels

Four Roses

Jim Beam

Noah's Mill

Old Pogue

Rowans Creek

Woodford Reserve

A.H. Hirsch

Michters

Prichards

Bernheim

Parkers

Willet

Vintage Bourbon

 

Brandy & Cognac

All brandy and cognac require certification since both are made from wine.  

Some Kosher Brandies:

Boukha Fig (OU)

Spirit of Solomon (Hisachdus-CRC)

Carmel (OU)

Tishbi (OU) 

Herzog (OU)

 

Gin

Gin with no flavors added is acceptable. 
(Note: Sloe Gin is a liqueur and requires certification.)  

Buffalo Trace Taaka Brand Gin is certified by the cRc.

Gordon's Flavored Gin (all flavors) produced in the USA, is Kosher certified by the cRc.

Bombay Brand Sapphire Gin and Tanqueray Rangpur distilled Gin are presently not recommended.

Liqueurs

Liqueurs generally have lower alcohol content and are, by definition, flavored drinks. Sometimes a liqueur is referred to as an aperitif or cordial. 
All liqueurs require certification.
 


The following are some brands that bear certification on the label and may be used.
Check the labels of each bottle and each flavor for the indicated certification. Some flavors from the sources listed below may be Dairy and will have a D next to the kosher symbol. 

Amaretto Disaronno (OU)

Kedem (OU)

Bartenura (OU)

Leroux (OU)

Carmel (OU)

Cointreau (No certification on bottle needed)

DeKuper (with OU or all listed on OU website)

 

Drambuie (No certification on bottle required.)

 

Honkes (MK - Montreal)

Monfort (OU)

Frangelico (OU)

Peter Cherry Heering (OU)

Starbucks OU even without designation on the bottle. White Chocolate is Dairy

Southern Comfort only with Badatz Basel and Badatz Beit Yosef on each bottle

Godiva (OU) - All should be considered as Dairy unless noted otherwise on each label.

Sabra (OU)

Some popular brands that are not recommended:

Bailey’s Irish Cream

Ouzo

B&B Liqueur

Sambuca

Benedictine

Southern Comfort - See above

Gold Schlager

Kirschwasser

Grand Marnier

Llord’s (without hashgacha)

Wild Turkey Liqueur

Tia Maria

Kahula

Yukon Jack

 

 

 

Mead

All mead require certification since most, if not all contain various kosher
sensitive ingredients such as wine or flavors.

Rum

Rum generally requires certification. The following are acceptable under the stated conditions.

Bacardi

Unflavored Dark, Light & Gold Only

Cruzan

Unflavored Dark & Light Only

Iceberg

With OU on Label

Jumbi

With OU on Label

Don Q

With OU on Label

Rye

No certification required.

Sake

Only recommended when bearing a reliable Kosher symbol.

Sensei brand sake is kosher when bearing an OU on the label.

 

Scotch

 

 

The following is a list of scotch that we have determined to be free of any questionable wines or casks. Other brands will be added in the future as we are able to determine that they comply with the cRc standards. Only the specific vintages/categories listed are recommended at this time.
Various brands of blended scotch may also be aged in wine casks. The cRc policy is that unless the presence of questionable casks are printed on the label, they are permitted to use. If one wishes to be more stringent, then only those brands of scotch listed below should be considered free of any wine casks. 
Some questionable methods include scotch aged in wine casks such as sherry, sauterne or port, dual casks, French casks, European casks, port finish, maderia finish, dual finish, triple finish, double matured and/or triple matured.

Ardbeg

10 year

Auchentoshan

Original, 16 Year

Balvenie

15 Year Single Barrel

Dramguish

Any age

Glenlivet

12 year, 15 year French Oak, Nadura 16 year, Nadura 191

Glenrothes

Alba

Glenmorangie

Original, Astar

McClelland’s

Lowland, Speyside
(Speyside 12, Highland and Islay are NOT certified kosher)

Royal Legacy of 1745

Any age

The Speyside

Any age

Tomintoul

10 year, 16 year, 33 year, Peaty Tang.

Various brands of blended scotch may be aged in wine barrels. However, the cRc policy is that unless the questionable casks are printed on the label, they are permitted to use. If one wishes to be more stringent, then only those brands of scotch listed above should be considered free of any wine cask issues.

Soju (Korean liquor)

Only recommended when bearing a reliable kosher symbol.

Tequila

There are three types of tequila on the market:

1)     Regular-White (also known as Silver) tequila which is recommended. This clear tequila contains either 100% agave or a mixture of agave and sugar cane.

2)      Gold-Brown tequila which is not recommended without a reliable hashgacha. This darker tequila is aged for 3 months and may have color and flavoring added. 

3)      Reposado (“rested” ) (also known as Special) tequila which is not recommended without a reliable hashgacha. It is aged for 6 months and in addition to concerns of color and flavoring, glycerin may be added for density.

Some acceptable Tequila brands:

Don Bernardo G (with OU)

Salusa

Campo Azul

Sol Dios Anejo (with OU)

 

Sol Dios Platinum / Blanco (with OU)

Agave 99     (with OU)

El Diamante Del Cielo   (with OU)

"Ponchos 1910" Blanco 43%-Coffee 35%-Reposado 40%

 

Stallion   (with OU)

Tonala  (with OU)

Vermouth

Vermouth requires certification since it is made from wine. 

Kedem is the only brand readily available with a kosher symbol.

Vodka

All Domestic (USA only) non-flavored vodka is acceptable. Imported vodka requires certification or confirmation of their approved kashrus status. This applies only to grain or potato vodka. Some vodkas are made with grapes or Whey and would need a reliable hashgacha.

 

The Following Buffalo Trace Distillery - Sazerac Vodka is approved when bearing the cRc on the label:

Taaka 100 Proof Vodka

Taaka 80 Proof Vodka

Taaka 90.4 Proof Vodka

Taaka Pink Lemonade Vodka

42 Below brand vodka has been reported to be made in dairy vessels and therefore should not be used directly with meat.

Van Gogh Vodka is approved if it states kosher under the supervision of the Holland Rabbinate or the Chief Rabbinate on the label. This kosher certification is for the following flavors – mint, pineapple, melon, blueberry, double espresso, espresso, pomegranate, orange, mango, coffee 19/90 XXO, banana, caramel and blue.

The following unflavored imported vodkas are acceptable imports even without certification on the label:

Absolut

Kettle One

Belvedere 

Provda (now has OU)

Chopin

Stolichnaya - (see below for flavored)

Finlandia

Vox

Iceberg (now has OU)

Van Gough (unflavored)

Yevreyskaya

Three Olives (from England)

Grey Goose

 

Ursus Flavored Vodka is not certified kosher


The following Absolut Flavored Vodkas are now acceptable even without the OU on the label.

Apeach

Berri Acai

 

Brooklyn

Citron

ELYX

Kurant

Los Angeles

Mandrin

Mango

Orient Apple

Pears

Peppar

Raspberri

Rubby Red

S.F.

Tropics

Vanilla

Wild Tea

 

 

Putinka Vodka both Pepper flavor and Limited Edition are kosher even without certification on the label.

1864 Perfect Vodka is acceptable even without the KF certification on the label.

Gordon Vodkas 
The following varieties are cRc certified even without certification on the label: 

Citrus Flavored

Wild Berry

Orange

 

Stolichnaya Vodkas: 
The following varieties are acceptable, with OU on the label:

Cinnamon Flavored

Orange Flavored

Coffee Flavored

Peach Flavored

Gold Premium Imported Russian

Raspberry Flavored

Imported Russian

Strawberry Flavored

Lemon Flavored

Vanilla Flavored

Smirnoff

The following Smirnoff vodkas are acceptable even without the KSA on the label:    

Blue Label

Red Label

Silver Label

The following Smirnoff products are acceptable, with KSA on the label:

Vodka Twists / Flavors
    Strawberry Acai is NOT kosher!

Black Cherry

Espresso (Dairy C.S.)

Passionfruit

Raspberry

Blueberry

Green Apple

Peach

Root Beer (Dairy C.S.)

Cherry

Lime

Pear

Strawberry

Citrus

Mango

Pineapple

Vanilla

Coconut

Melon

Pomegranate

Watermelon Twist

Cranberry

Orange

 

White Grape

Smirnoff Ice:
 Non -flavored Smirnoff Ice including the Smirnoff Ice and Smirnoff Ice Triple Black contain grape and are not certified Kosher. The following varieties BOTTLED IN THE UNITED STATES are acceptable even without the KSA on the label.

Green Apple

Passionfruit

Watermelon

Mango

Raspberry Burst

Wild Grape

Smirnoff Raw Tea:
The following varieties are acceptable even without the KSA on the label.

Green

Lemon

Raspberry

 

Whiskey (including Canadian, Irish, Ryes)

Several brands of whiskey are now being processed with possible kosher sensitive concerns. Some are adding honey or other flavors while others are now being aged in wine casks. Consumers can determine the kosher status by reading the label of each bottle. If there are no obvious kosher sensitive concerns and there are no chometz concerns, the whiskey would be acceptable.

Any whiskey, including Irish Whiskey, that is aged in a wine cask, such as Sherry or Port, or aged in dual casks, European casks or French casks should be avoided as it is uncertain if these are kosher. This can be determined by the information listed on the label of each bottle.

Blended Whiskeys are acceptable only with certification, unless appearing on the list below:

Jamesons Irish Whiskey

Kellan Irish Whiskey

Midleton Irish Whiskey

Paddy Irish Whiskey

Power Irish Whiskey

Tullamore Dew Irish Whiskey (regular only- NOT those aged in sherry casks)

Canadian – Canadian Club (regular only - not Classic, Premium or Special Reserve)

Canadian Mist

Crown Royal Original and black Only - the cRc does not recommend the sherry cask version.

Gibsons (MK on label)

Seagram’s (VO and 7 Canadian Blend only, not American Blend)

Wiser’s 

 

Wines


Check bottles for an acceptable certification and a statement that the wine is mevushal. Many Israeli and French wines are not mevushal, so care must be exercised.

Carmel Wines from Israel must bear the OU on the label; some wines produced during the shmitayear will not have the OU on the label.

Alfasi wine, from Chile, is under the OK certification but not all are mevushal. Each label should be checked.

 

Bar Stock Items

Any bar equipment (strainers, shot measures, blenders, stir rods, shakers, etc.) used with non-kosher products should be properly kashered and/or cleaned prior to use for a kosher affair.

Bitters - require a relaible hashgacha

Olives - green olives require certification, Domestic Black Olives packed in water, with no added flavors or colors are acceptable without certification on the label.

Pearl Onions - are pickled and require certification

Lemon and Lime - fresh lemon and limes used for slices, wedges and twists must be prepared using a kosher knife and on a kosher cutting board.

All Tabasco brand hot pepper sauce is acceptable as long as it bears a "K".

Maraschino Cherries - only with acceptable certification