The Grey Goose Saga, The Story Behind The Excitement
by CrownHeights.info
The Jewish community was taken by storm today as news “broke” of a potential problem regarding Grey Goose Vodka, a French liquor favored among vodka drinkers. So what is the story behind the excitement?
This story isn’t new, in fact, it goes back nearly ten years.
As far back as 2011 the OK Kosher, a leading International Kashrus Organization, withheld Grey Goose Vodka from its list of preferred liquors. This is not to say that it was not kosher, rather there were concerns.
The concerns surrounded the use of grape alcohol, which provides taste to the rather harsh liquid. While grape alcohol is not unkosher, if falls under the category of liquor which requires involvement of a Jew.
The issue with Grey Goose was confirmed by Rabbi Don Yoel Levy A”H, who at the time lead the OK Kashrus, two years ago, and people were advised not to purchase or drink it.
The problems with Grey Goose was found by Rabbi Levy to spread beyond just the “flavored” version of the Vodka to include also the “unflavored” type, but exact measurements, amounts were not made public.
For some unknown reason, the issue resurfaced again this week, making its rounds of social media.
Some poskim and Kashrus organizations piped up, giving the expected response not to drink it for now until the matter is clarified.
“As of now, Grey Goose – even regular unflavored vodka – should not be consumed,” Rabbi Chaim Schochet was said to have said.
The Vaad Hakashrus of Belz also published a notice, advising people to not drink it for now.
Many claims were made regarding the CRC of Chicago, claiming that they made statements inn regards. As of now, the CRC has yet to officially make any statements on the matter.
As a precautionary measure, many liquor stores have removed Grey Goose from their shelves, pending clarification on the issue.
As anything regarding Halachik questions, you should consult with your local Rav on how to proceed.
UPDATE: The CRC Clarifies
Those who keep kosher would never eat in a restaurant without a reliable hechsher, nor bring products into their homes unless verified to be kosher. The assumption is that prepared food and beverages are not kosher until verified otherwise. It is well-known that we maintain one of the largest kosher Liquor Lists in the world, investing considerable research to find acceptable kosher liquor options for consumers. We firmly believe that products which are certified-kosher are preferable to those listed as approved, as these avoid any kashrus issues. Nevertheless, as a community-based hechsher, we feel it is important to do careful research and provide options for those who may not have access to certified products.
It has come to our attention that a popular vodka, produced in France, was considered acceptable in kosher homes even without a hechsher. The cRc has always advised that vodka produced in France, Ireland, and New Zealand requires special attention out of concern that it may be produced from wine or dairy alcohol. In fact, there have been persistent rumors that this vodka from France contains alcohol produced from wine. As we know, wine products require special hashgacha to avoid the concern of stam yeinam – wine produced by non-observant Jews. As stated, we believe that unless a particular product meets generally accepted guidelines for kosher liquor, the assumption is that the product is not kosher until verified otherwise.
Because of the above, we never officially published that it was not recommended nor did we say it was recommended. We simply left it off our kosher liquor list because vodka from France needs to be verified as kosher.
In recent days, a consumer that spoke to one of our staff correctly posted on a WhatsApp Group that we do not recommend it, but this was misinterpreted and reposted by others outside the cRc (without contacting us first) to state that we have firsthand knowledge that there is wine in the product. This is untrue. Our position was based on the stated concern.
After extensive research, we have now discovered that there is a special run produced under hashgacha specifically for the Israeli market (with kashering the lines to avoid any contact with equipment used for non-kosher products) and we have verified that the source for the standard alcohol for this company is solely grain based.
However, this same company does produce a non-kosher version of vodka which contains grape based alcohol, but the standard unflavored version is solely grain based. Therefore, as long the company continues to maintain special kosher runs, the above information is considered accurate.
