OK Kosher in Israel has informed the state’s Kashrus Fraud Unit headed by Rabbi Rafi Yochai that a label displaying the OK hechsher on bottles of Jonny Walker Black manufactured by Paneco.com are unauthorized as the agency only gives its hashgacha to the product manufactured by IBBLS.
The fraudulent label states the product is under the hashgacha of the OK as well as being approved by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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6 Responses
Paneco and IBBLS are distributors not manufacturers.
Perhaps the bottling is done in Israel and the OK only give hashgacha on one bottling plant and not the other.
Please clarify
Drink only Bourbon, it has no halachic issues, Scotch does have problems…
The label does not say the whisky is manufactured by Paneco; it says Paneco is the importer. The manufacturer is Johnnie Walker. All Johnnie Walker Black Label is manufactured by the same company. Note that the respected Star K list says that Scotch Whisky is Approved: Single Malt and Blended. Except when label states “aged in sherry casks”, “sherry finish”, “port finish”, “madeira finish”, “dual cask finish”, “double matured”. Black label does not have any of those qualifiers. This seems a lot more like a trade turf war than a kashrus issue as Paneco.com are selling this whisky very cheaply, including free delivery in Israel.
Avreimi
I recently emailed a single malt scotch company that had nothing on the label that implied sherry casks, and in an email they told me that they use sherry casks.
Its not so pashut
I gave away all my single malts except ones that are specifically mentioned on CRC and star K list
Just purchased a nice Belvanie Carribean Cask single malt
If my memory serves me right, this question of maturing whisky in sherry or similar casks was asked many decades ago and R”Moshe zz’l paskened that there is no problem. avreimi, you are entitled to your own chumros, you are not entitled to your own halacha.
Berliner
You are referring to a tshuva by Rav Moshe on blended whiskeys. The kula that Rav Moshe gave does not apply to all situations.
There is a book published on the subject. Find it on the CRC website. Most kashrus organizations are machmir and that is why the CRC liquor list exists.