Row over Johnnie Walker kosher status
Diageo’s Johnnie Walker whisky is at the centre of a row involving Israel’s religious leader following claims that some bottles do not have kosher status.
Johnnie Walker has become embroiled in a row over its kosher statusThe spiritual authority for Jews in Israel, The Israeli Chief Rabinnate, claims that “vast quantities” of Johnnie Walker whisky in the country is not certified kosher.
As a result, the leader has reportedly revoked Paneco Group’s kosher certification. Paneco is one of the country’s major importers of Johnnie Walker Black Label.
There are still bottles of the whisky for sale imported by the whisky’s official Israeli supplier, Israel Beer Breweries Ltd Spirits (IBBLS), which paid to have kosher inspectors fly to Scotland to investigate the production process and ensure it fell in line with kosher requirements.
Paneco reportedly claims its product is “the same” as the whisky imported by IBBLS.
A spokesman for Paneco told the Scotsman: “All products sold on Paneco.com are completely and solely original.
“The Johnnie Walker whisky products sold on the site are created by the primary manufacturer at the Diageo distillery in Scotland, and is the exact same product being marketed by a competing company in Israel, which holds the kosher certification for the product.”
A spokesperson from Diageo told SB: “Our Scotch whisky brands are world famous for their quality, craftsmanship and heritage. We sell scotch whisky in over 180 markets around the world, and so recognise that our brands touch a very diverse set of consumers. While we are happy to share information about our brands, we respect that consumers themselves must choose whether to enjoy scotch whisky according to their own circumstances.
“We don’t comment on issues relating to third party distributors, but it must be stressed that there is no question about the quality and provenance of any of our Scotch whisky brands.”
The desire to certify products as kosher has lead to a number of Scotch whisky distillers enlisting rabbis to come into their distilleries and supervise whisky bottling.
