The Golani "Fine Du Golan" VSOP Brandy Kosher For Pesach

Fine Du Golan VSOP Brandy review

This is a review of the brand-new Golani Kasher LePesach Brandy, the “Fine Du Golan VSOP”

“You Got Mail”

On Friday I received I rather odd email from “Anonymous”, who didn’t even have the courtesy to at least leave his first name, writing how much he had enjoyed reading my kosher whisky reviews and how my articles were “super well-informed and [an] intelligent analysis”. Then, as if as an afterthought and just a throw away comment, he added:

“Just a note: the Golan Heights are an illegally occupied territory. All soon part of Eretz Israel made real by force, but still, some of us grieve.”

Well, to my anonymous grieving fan, this review of the new Golani Israeli Brandy VSOP is dedicated to you. Enjoy!

 

Golani VSOP Israeli Brandy	Data Sheet
Owner:	Golani Distillery (Golan Heights)
Barcode:	650003824037
Price:	40% abv: NIS 280, Cask Strength: NIS 360
Alcohol:	40% abv and Cask Strength 53.4%
Age	VSOP, at least 4 Years Old
Cask Types:	French Oak Casks
Chill-Filtered:	No
Natural Colour:	Yes
Kashrus Issues:	None whatsoever.
Kosher Certification:	OK-P*, Beit Din Katzrin Kasher LePesach

 * Please Note, despite only having “OK” printed on the back label, it is in fact OK-P, certified Kasher LePesach by the OK Israel Kashrus organisation. See below for further details.

Introduction

Last year I went from shop to shop, both in Modiin and Yerushalayim, searching for Louis Royer VSOP, my go to favourite Cognac I buy every Pesach that costs around NIS 200 and comes with a hechsher from the OU-P.

Although I found their VS edition everywhere and their XO Edition in a few places (at the ridiculous price of NIS 600), alas, to my great frustration, there was no VSOP available anywhere. Again, this year, I failed to find any VSOP bottles. So, as an alternative, I went and bought a bottle of Dupuy Cognac VSOP at the cost of NIS 220, which also comes with certification from the OU-P.

(For a definition of Cognac versus Brandy and the different International Brandy Ratings such as VS, VSOP, XO etc, please see my article here).

It got me thinking at the time, why are there so few Israeli Brandies available for Pesach?

After all, there are over 120 Kosher Israeli wineries, which are almost all Kasher lePesach all year round by not allowing any chametz products into the premises ever. So in theory, all they really need to do is to invest in a small Brandy still setup for a few thousand shekels, fill the spirit they produce from their own wine into oak casks and wait for around four years, in order to make descent VSOP Brandy for Pesach. They will be tapping into that lucrative Pesach market that arrives without fail every year, when us whisky lovers look for a Kasher LePesach spirits alternative for this chametz free festival.

As it happens, a few months ago I was greatly honoured to receive a personal invitation to tour one of my favourite wineries. While I was there, they very proudly showed off their new experimental Brandy project. I sampled a couple of casks from 2 to 4 years old and must say that what I tasted was absolutely excellent.

Unfortunately, they still have not decided when they are going to bottle their Brandy. It won’t be this year for sure. Consequently, they requested that everything be kept under wraps for the time being so I am unable to reveal the name of the winery.  (Remaining anonymous seems to be becoming a theme in this article).

I am therefore delighted to inform you that the Israeli Golani Distillery have announced the release of their very first Kasher LePesach Brandy this year, and it is with great pleasure that I am able to publicise and review it.

Usually, I buy 2-3 bottles of French Cognac Brandy for Pesach, depending upon how many guests we have. I am so glad now that I only bought one bottle of Cognac back in February, as I still had money left in my "Cognac" budget to purchase some bottles of this Israeli Golani Brandy.

A Kosher for Pesach Brandy from a Grain Chametz Distillery?

Before all your kosher alarm bells go off and you ask the very legitimate question of “how is it possible to produce a kosher for Pesach Brandy in a chametz grain distillery?”, the answer is, that you can’t! It’s just too difficult and not worth the effort to kasher a grain distillery to the standards demanded by a member of AKO, such as the OK Kashrus.

In fact, a completely separate "Golani Brandy distillery" was set up only a short distance away from the grain distillery in another building in the Katzin industrial zone and, just like Israeli wineries, is Kasher lePesach all year round.

It was set up just over four years ago by David Zibell, owner of Golani Distillery with the assistance of Rav Yitzchak Rosenfield of the OK Israel Kashrus organisation. When I sat down with Rav Rosenfield at his office in Elad at the beginning of March this year, he explained that the new Golani Katzrin Brandy distillery has the highest kashrus standards without compromise.

Photo Credit Michael Giladi

There are two editions available. A standard 40% abv bottling and a Cask Strength 53.4% abv.

Obviously (would you have expected anything else from me), I ordered both editions in order to review them side-by-side for the benefit of my loyal readers (including Mr Anonymous). In the end, I did not need to open my bottles before Pesach as the distillery very kindly sent me two little sample bottles as well. One of the 40% and the other the Cask Strength Edition.

I first became aware of these two new Israeli Brandies when I received a promotional email from the company. This included URL links to the two Brandies on their official website.

Mysteriously, for some reason, the webpages for these Kosher for Pesach Brandies (at the time of writing at least) don't seem to be connected to the main website and are not listed on any menu option. It seems that they are only accessible from these direct links. (Perhaps this is to keep the Kasher LePesach Brandies well away from the website's cookies?).

So, I have included the links from the email here for your convenience:

“Fine Du Golan” 40% abv Edition

https://www.golanispirit.com/products/fine-du-golan-vsop-brandy?_pos=3&_sid=2238478de&_ss=r&se_activity_id=140038013033&syclid=cvkihkn7jgls73bd8fug

“Fine Du Golan” Cask Strength Edition

https://www.golanispirit.com/products/cs-fine-du-golan-vsop-brandy-53-4?se_activity_id=140038013033&syclid=cvkii0qphjdc7384l4sg

Kashrus Problem?

Upon looking at the photos on the website, I immediately spotted something which raised a big red flag for me and initially caused me some concern.

(*** Spoiler Alert *** It turns out there is no problem. Read on…)

The kashrus certification says that it’s Kasher LePesach only according to the Katzrin Local Rabbanut. It does have an OK hechsher but it appears without the “P” for Pesach.

It should have had this symbol

Usually, in circumstances such as this, it signifies that there is indeed a kashrus problem with this product for Pesach. This could range from (as noted above) a sub-standard level of koshering for Pesach of the premises or equipment, demanded by AKO member kashrus organisations or perhaps it could mean that it contains some ingredient made from kitnios (legumes), which Ashkenazi Jews are prohibited from eating on Pesach.

So, I contacted Rav Yitzchak Rosenfield of the OK Kosher Organisation branch here in Israel, and asked him why there was no OK-P symbol on the label, expecting him to tell me some story of woe, so often heard within the kashrus industry, that they could not give a hechsher due to some oversight or problem found at the last moment. Instead, the Rav seemed puzzled at first and asked me to send him photos of the front and back label.

Rav Rosenfield then called me back and said that it was an unfortunate printing mistake. The back label should have stated OK-P!!!

I there upon asked Rav Rosenfield’s permission to publicise this fact and he readily agreed. So, in fact the Golani “Fine Du Golan” is Kasher LePesach, certified by OK-P.

The “Fine Du Golan” VSOP Brandy - The Review

Packaging

Overall, I like the bottle shape and artwork and the fact that the name of the Brandy is in French. I am however most relieved that the very informative text on the back label is in English and Hebrew. I also like the touches of gold leaf here and there. Not too much. Just the right amount. My only criticism of the packaging is that I feel that the bottle should have come in a nice cardboard box, similar to the Golani and Yerushalmi Single Malts. Selling it without a box cheapens the presentation somewhat, in my opinion.

Friday night, we opened an exceptionally delicious bottle of Gamay Noir 2021 from the Har Odem Winery Select Range for Kiddush. We then washed and said HaMotzei over two of my dear wife’s home-made challos that she had covered in kimmel (roasted caraway seeds).

We then served some creamy textured chopped liver, eggs and onions with giant black and green olives, pickled cucumbers and a fresh vegetable salad.

(Interestingly, I don't know where "Dennis", the Meat shop in Givat Ze'ev gets their giant olives from, but I'd estimate that they are about a quarter to a third of the size of a Medium egg. That's certainly getting near the definition of a kzayis ("like an olive"), that is the volume of an olive as described by the Tosafos in the Gemara in Pesachim at around a third of an average egg).

I then brought some Glencairn whisky glasses for my two sons and myself to the table and we shared the contents of the little sample bottles between us.

Appearance

The colour of both Editions is a cross between a medium copper and scotch milk fudge. Viscosity was good on the 40% abv but not surprisingly, thicker and more oily on the Cask Strength edition.

On The Nose

Rich aromas of toffee apples. Caramel milk toffee fudge. Real Maple syrup (not the fake stuff). White fruits such as apples, pears, lychee and green melon with mild oak spices in the background.

On The Palate

Sweet stewed apples, plump dates and dark raisins with a drizzle of honey, glazed oranges, milk chocolate, milk toffee fudge tablets with soft oaky tannins.

The Finish

More of the same delicious flavours as above. Even with water added to the Cask Strength, the flavours lasted longer in the mouth compared to the 40% abv edition. This is not to say that the 40% abv was watery or lacking in flavour in any way. It’s just that the Cask Strength edition held its flavour for longer due to its fuller body.

In my opinion, is the Cask Strength worth the extra NIS 80?

It’s difficult to say with only a little sample to try out. Allow me to reserve my final judgement until I get to know these two bottles a bit better over Pesach.

Conclusion

Not only do we have a real Pesach alternative to Cognac now, but due to the fact that these Brandies are bottled to the standard of an integrity Single Malt Whisky, without chill-filtration and with no artificial colouring added, it makes them, in my opinion, a far superior choice.

The "budget" level Golani Brandy Edition is the most comparable to Cognac as it’s also bottled at 40% abv. However, when I compared the last drops of the Israeli VSOP to some Louis Royer XO I had left over from last Pesach, in my opinion, the Blue and White brandy won hands down against the Blue, White and Red Cognac.

Those lively rich fruits mixed with the honey, maple syrup and silky soft milky fudge oak tannins of the Golani Brandy frankly made the imported Cognac XO seem quite two dimensionally flat, cardboard like and boring in comparison. Bearing in mind that you can buy two bottles of Golani Brandy for less than one bottle of Cognac XO, I’d say there is a clear winner here.

With this Golani “Fine Du Golan” now out on the Israeli market and at least one major Israeli winery planning on bottling their VSOP Brandy, perhaps Be’ezras Hashem in time for Pesach next year, I’d say that the writing is on the wall for future (French) Cognac sales here.

When you consider that the Israeli Brandies are made with the combined professional expertise of world-renowned Israeli wine and spirits craftsmen, all bottled without Chill-Filtration, are Natural Colour and offered at both 40% abv as well as Cask Strength for the kind of full flavour experience you get from the equivalent Integrity bottlings of the finest Scotch Single Malt Whisky, poor old Cognac, only available at the 40% abv, made to be “smooth” and generic, almost certainly chill-filtered and probably has caramel colour added, is frankly an inferior product and not even in the same league.

It’s like trying to judge a Chivas Regal 12 or Johnny Walker Black Label Scotch Blended Whisky against an Ardnamurchan, Glencadam, Glengyle or Kilchoman integrity bottling of Single Malt Whisky.

There is no comparison.

There are only a few days left before Pesach. Trust me, if you usually buy Cognac for Pesach every year and (like me), complain every year about the lack of integrity and range of flavours compared to Single Malt Whisky, then these Fine Du Golan VSOP Brandies are what you have been waiting for.

Chag Kasher VeSameach