Kashrus Certification given to The Glenlivet 12-Year-Old Double Oak, now revoked!
Kashrus
Certification given to The Glenlivet 12-Year-Old Double Oak, now revoked!
Based on this, the "Rabbanut Rashi LeYisrael" gave their ishur, which means that this product can be served in all hotels and restaurants under the certification of the Rabbanut Rashi in Israel.
This was brought to my attention by someone on a Kashrus WhatsApp
forum who reached out to me a few weeks ago, as they had seen a discussion on the forum about this whisky. Apparently, a member had seen this Glenlivet 12 in “Osher
Ad” Chareidi supermarket with its certification, and had posted it to the forum. The forum asked for my opinion as to whether it
was suitable to purchase. (Being English speakers, they obviously saw the problem
in the wording “Double Oak” and a Kashrus Certification). They also asked what the difference was between the 12-Year-Old standard edition in the grey box, and this one in the green box?
I went to
Osher Ad supermarket in Yerushalayim and tried to take some photos through the
locked fridge window. It wasn’t easy.
Ok, looking carefully at this label, the first thing I made clear to the forum was that the so-called Kashrus label is actually not a Kashrus certification. It states under the Belz Symbol, "Nivdak VeIshur". In other words, an "ishur", that is, Belz are giving it an "approved" status, not an actual Teudat Hechsher!
What
Casks were used in the maturation?
According
to official sources, “The Glenlivet 12-Year-Old Double Oak” has been matured in
a combination of American Oak Ex-Bourbon casks and Spanish Ex-Sherry casks, hence
its name “Double Oak”!!!
The official Glenlivet site describes the maturation as:
Cask: European and American oakHowever, this description: (taken from "The Whisky Company" website) is, in my opinion, more informative:
The Glenlivet 12-Year-Old Double
Oak Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (700ml)
Volume: 700/750ml ABV: 40% Age: 12 Years
Old Country: Scotland
The Glenlivet has always resinated as one of the world’s
smoothest and flavoursome single malts. This expression is no different. It has
been maturing in American oak ex bourbon casks and European oak ex-Sherry
casks for no less than 12 years.
This combination of casks gives The Glenlivet 12-year-old a well-balanced
and fruity flavour.
According to the Chivas Regal (Pernod Ricard) Brand Ambassador, Jasper Epsom,
The Glenlivet 12-Year-Old Double Oak was aged in American and European [Sherry]
Oak casks. See here.
Is there a difference between the standard 12-Year-Old and Double Oak?
I promised to investigate and get back to the Kashrus forum
when I had learnt something.
The Investigation begins…
I reached out to two Rabbonim, Kashrus experts in Whisky,
one here in Israel and the other in London, to ask why this clearly problematic
product had been given a hechsher.
The Rav in Israel got back to me and said that he had
contacted Belz Israel and their response was that, according to their sources,
there was no kashrus issue with this product so they had issued an ishur (approval)
and later, an actual Teudat Hechsher (certification) on behalf of the
importers, Osher Ad Supermarket!!!
Then I received an answer from the Rabbi in London who has
very close connections to Belz
Machzikei Hadass London. It
seems that they were not aware of what their counterparts in Israel had done
and, after checking, had sent an urgent email to Belz Israel, asking/advising them to
withdraw their Kashrus certification and ishur logo immediately!
I later received a message from the Rabbi in Israel telling
me the same thing, that Belz in Israel had been asked/advised by the Kashrus department
in London to remove the Teudat Hechsher and to notify the Israeli importer, Osher
Ad to remove the Certification logo.
Presumably, now that they have revoked their certification,
the ishur from the Rabbanut Rashi is no longer valid either! (?)
I have yet to go to Osher Ad in Yerushalaym to see if
anything has been done. (It’s snowing here at the moment).
My own thoughts on the matter
I simply do not understand why Belz Israel took it upon
themselves to issue Kashrus Certification on a British product without asking
or at least, informing the office in London, who perhaps would have been better informed.
Perhaps, not being English speakers, they were unaware of
the significance of the term “Double Oak matured” and were relying on
information given to them by the Israeli importer? (Just my supposition).
IMPORTANT LAST POINT
I want to stress that this Single Malt does seem to meet the minimum requirements of other reliable AKO member Kashrus organisations which I am sure would be more than happy giving it their own teudat hechsher, (if approached). For instance, the OK (which does allow a small percentage of Refill Ex-Sherry casks), already gives a hechsher to the Glenlivet 15 Year Old French Oak as well as others, which, as I understand it, seems to have similar kashrus issues as this 12 Year Old. The point is that the Badatz organisations in general have set for themselves a higher standard and will not (again, as I understand it), give a hechsher to a product unless the product is beyond any doubt and has no kashrus issues whatsoever.
kashrus agencies probably shouldn't be giving a hechsher without actually supervising in some way the production. I understand there must be some way to initiate a certification post distillation- as I doubt other aged whiskeys were actually supervised for all the years aged. They'd be better served just pointing people to your list, or the crc , and telling people to ask their own ruv.
ReplyDeleteשבוע טוב ישראל
DeleteExcellent point about giving an actual Teudat Kashrut to something you haven't actually supervised during production. An Ishur I can understand, but not mamash certification.
To answer you question regarding supervision of Kosher Single Malt Whisky, the mashgiach would always go to the distillery to check what equipment is being used. Regarding actual hashgacha, it depends which type of maturation. Exclusively Ex-Bourbon, it is sufficient to examine official Customs and Excise records of cask type. If that cask is Ex-Bourbon and remained in tge warehouses throughout its life then this is sufficient proof that there is no Kashrut issues. If we are talking about Finishing in kosher wine casks then the masgiach goes to the filling station, he unwraps the kosher casks and and checks that the cask filling equipment has been either exclusively used for Ex-Bourbon casks or that it is standard practice to wash out the equipment between Sherry and Bourbon casks, he might insist an extra cleaning of equipment or changing of hoses or pipes or nozzles. He will then re-rack (fill the kosher casks) himself and seal them. After that, there is a machlochet whether a goy is allowed to touch and sample these whisky casks. Badatz Eide Charidis say no! They will only certify if seal is untouched, which makes it impossible to know when the whisky has reached its peak to be bottled. One just has to guess. Others are more mekel and allow the distillery expert to sample the contents of the cask, as long as they use a seperate kosher valinche (a large pipette). Then the mashgiach will supervise bottling making sure that the bottling line has only been used for kosher drinks. There is much more to say but that's the basics.
I am surprised to hear that the OK "does allow a small percentage of Refill Ex-Sherry casks." How do you know that? What percentage of Refill Ex-Sherry casks does the OK allow?
DeleteIndeed, as I understand it, the OK allow no more than 8% Refill Sherry casks in the final vatting. An example would include Chivas Regal 12 YO which states on the box that it it is a blend of sherry and Bourbon casks, yet the OK gives it a hechsher. Another example is "The Singleton" series, some of which also have some Ex-Sherry casks in the vatting, although the OK say that these are old Refill casks.
DeleteWho is in charge of alcoholic beverages at the OK these days?
Delete