Buffalo Trace Distillery releases trio of Kosher whiskeys

Buffalo Trace is releasing three Kosher whiskeys.

Just as Passover comes to an end, a new tradition begins: Buffalo Trace Distillery announced this week it will release what it believes to be the first authentic Kosher whiskeys. Three of them, in fact.

The three whiskeys are Kosher Rye Recipe Bourbon; Kosher Wheat Recipe Bourbon and Kosher Straight Rye Whiskey and will ship after Passover ends on April 16, according to a news release.

The distillery worked with the Chicago Rabbinical Council, beginning in 2010, to develop the whiskeys in keeping with 3,000-year-old Kosher traditions. The council, also known as cRc, oversaw the sale of new American Oak Kosher barrels, which were filled with the future whiskey and put away to age.

Once the whiskeys matured, the release explains, the bottling lines at Buffalo Trace were flushed to ensure the new whiskey wouldn’t be exposed to non-Kosher spirits.

Kosher law mandates that whiskey should not be owned or consumed by Jews during Passover, according to the release, so bottles will be sold until Passover begins again in 2021. The releases will become an annual post-Passover tradition for the distillery.

“This is a milestone in the spirits industry to produce a truly Kosher whiskey,” Mark Brown, owner of the Kosher barrels at Buffalo Trace, said.  “We know Kosher products are very important to the Jewish community as well as a broader audience; we are fully committed to ensuring that the entire chain of custody remains Kosher so the purchaser has 100% confidence this is a Kosher whiskey.” 

The labels depict both the Buffalo Trace Distillery logo and the cRc-Kosher logo. 

“We’re excited that our partnership which we began 10 years ago has come to fruition,” Rabbi Sholem Fishbane, kashrus administrator of the Chicago Rabbinical Council, said, “Our members have shown great interest in the prospect of being able to enjoy a Kosher whiskey. We are very happy Buffalo Trace has taken the steps to make sure this happens.”

Each expression of the Buffalo Trace Kosher whiskeys will be released with a suggested retail price of $39.99 per 750ml bottle.