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I distilled some vodka (from sugar wine) on Shabbat, and now I'm not sure if my kosher friends can consume it.

Some important points:

  • It was edible before I distilled it (It was already wine)

  • We will have waited more than 25 hours to consume it after it was prepared

  • Everything else was otherwise kosher

Is this vodka kosher?

Dan Green-Leipciger
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  • when you say it started with "sugar wine" what does that mean? A grape product? Did you distill it FOR your friends? At their request? Do they know? – rosends Mar 18 '14 at 10:36
  • No grapes at all, sugar wine is also known as thin wort http://homedistiller.org/sugar/wash-sugar. I distilled it not specifically for them but to be enjoyed in general and not at their request. They are hosting a shabbat dinner this friday and I'd like to bring it. – Dan Green-Leipciger Mar 18 '14 at 12:49
  • This strikes me as a question for a rav. – Bruce James Mar 25 '14 at 01:10
  • Actually, it's more likely a dupe of this question than off-topic. – Seth J Mar 25 '14 at 14:56

1 Answers1

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Since you state that you do not keep Shabbos, and you state that you want to give it to your 'kosher friends', implying that you do not necessarily keep kosher, there is another problem. Even if you had made this during the week, it would be the same as if you had cooked food in your kitchen, using your own utensils. Even if the food was bought from a kosher grocery, they would not be able to use it. Since you could have used the equipment for wine distillation (whether you have or not), the equipment itself cannot be assumed to be kosher.

I would suggest that if you want to make some for them, you do so with new equipment, in their house, under their supervision. (and not on Shabbos).

sabbahillel
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    The crc website includes this statement in their pdf "Unflavored vodka is acceptable unless the label states that it is produced from grapes, wine, milk, lactose, or whey." and many unflavored vodkas are marked as "recommended [even with no supervision symbol]" Some of the brands whose vodkas are recommended produce other flavors which require certification or are unacceptable. Since this doesn't then automatically demand that the machinery be checked, why wouldn't we hold the individual to a similar standard? – rosends Mar 18 '14 at 13:40
  • @Danno because the individual uses nonkosher utensils in the same place. If the vodka factory used the nonkosher flavors in the same areas so that it could be mixed into the machinery, then it would require supervision. – sabbahillel Mar 18 '14 at 15:42
  • Three Olives unflavored is on the crc list even without a hechsher, but Three Olives makes a grape flavor which is not on the list. As far as I can tell, they have a single distillery. – rosends Mar 18 '14 at 16:04
  • @Danno, flavoring is often used in amounts too small to affect equipment, and in any event such flavoring is generally added cold at the end of the process. More importantly, you simply cannot learn from statements from Kashrus agencies about industrially made products not requiring supervision - which are based on the understanding of current industrial practice, and what would or wouldn't be a problem in an individual's home. – Yishai Mar 18 '14 at 16:07
  • @yishai I understand, but can I start by saying that because it is in a person's house it is automatically different from anywhere else? Since the company has no supervision we rely on a presumption, one which we could also make about any individual's product. If Three Olives certainly has questionable ingredients present, why do we confer more trust than an individual who does not have those same problems? I'm not saying that the home brew in question is acceptable; that isn't my area of expertise. I am just wondering why we demand of one differently from the other. – rosends Mar 18 '14 at 17:09
  • If anyone was worried, I'm bringing the still to my friends house and making another batch there. Not on shabbat this time – Dan Green-Leipciger Mar 18 '14 at 17:27
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    @Danno, all I am saying is you can't take a statement from the CRC (or anyone else) made in an industrial context and apply it to a home-brew concept. The predictability of the industrial production process creates certain leniencies which wouldn't otherwise apply. In this specific case, it has to do with the way in which that ingredient is used in an industrial context. In a home situation, any ingredient of any type can be introduce at any time. The same conclusions cannot be applied. There may be cases where a home ingredient is fine, but that is a case-by-case thing. – Yishai Mar 18 '14 at 18:19
  • @Yishai will he have to toivel the still and any other utensils, or will you not have to since the industrial application presumably didn't? – Mike Mar 19 '14 at 00:19
  • @Mike, I don't know the answer to that. – Yishai Mar 19 '14 at 01:30
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    The industrial application did not have to tovel because the equipment was not owned by a Jew. Since this is individually owned (by a Jew) utensils to make food it should be toveled. – sabbahillel Mar 19 '14 at 01:34