L'chaim! Louisville family works to keep bourbon kosher

There's nothing mystic about the kosherizing process.

It doesn't involve prayers or holy water like the spiritual ceremonies that might immediately jump to mind.

Instead, it simply involves a certified rabbi, some pretty detailed cleaning, and some light paperwork.

In Kentucky, the rabbis doing the certifying are likely members of the Litvin family, part of the Chabad movement.

They've been certifying products across the state for decades and recently gained national attention when the Wall Street Journal wrote about a special mission for their business: Keeping the bourbon industry kosher.

"Bourbon, in general, is a kosher item," said Rabbi Chaim Litvin, a co-owner of Kentucky Kosher. "... If it's bourbon, then when it's in the barrel, it's kosher. The problems arise when it leaves the barrel."

So, what exactly is kosher?

The word literally means fit or proper, Litvin said, and is mostly used in reference to Jewish dietary laws.

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As Litvin said, bourbon in its pure form is entirely kosher. It's made with grains and water not restricted by rules laid out in the Torah. But if the whiskey hits a container that's had previous contact with non-kosher products, the bourbon would immediately become non-kosher, Litvin said.

In years past, distilleries didn't frequently face that problem because they mostly handled small batches of bourbon and did not venture into other spirits, Litvin said. But as flavored spirits and nontraditional aging have become more popular at Kentucky distilleries, the companies have increasingly sought out the Litvins' help to make sure their processes remain legitimate.

One such company is Heaven Hill, which makes a line of Burnett's Flavored Vodkas that can contain ingredients that are not kosher, such as coloring or flavoring components.

If the company's flagship bourbon, Evan Willliams, were to touch a tank or line used by those spirits, it could no longer be designated as kosher.

Litvin said he inspects Heaven Hill's facilities about once a month to make sure that the vodkas and bourbons continue to run on separate lines and get stored in separate tanks.

Larry Kass, Heaven Hill's director of trade relations, said the obvious reason to seek a kosher designation is for the traditional Jewish market.

But outside of that, kosher symbols have become highly sought by health-conscious individuals wanting the extra level of care that the kosherizing process brings.

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To kosherize equipment used in food production or transportation, workers must meticulously clean it before purging it through contact with boiling water or fire.

The equipment is then inspected by a rabbi, like Litvin, who signs off on its purification and allows the company to adhere a kosher symbol to its product.

"It's a hallmark of quality and careful scrutiny and inspection," Kass said. "Certainly not everything is good for you that's kosher, but it is held to a higher standard in terms of quality control. That's the appeal in why we and all of our competitors do it as well."

According to a 2015 Quartz article, the kosher industry was estimated to be worth as much as $17 billion, despite Jews making up just 2 percent of the American population.

In 2014, the article stated, 40 percent of the country's new packaged food and beverage products were labeled as kosher.

Litvin said many food production and service businesses around the state follow the trend, and he frequently works with two large kosher organizations based in New York to certify companies here.

At their own company, Litvin said the spirits industry now takes up so much that the family has split the industry into a separate designating business - Kosher Liquor and Spirits.

"I grew up here; it's kind of a Kentucky thing," Litvin said. "... We kind of wanted to have one focus on just that industry because it's unique to us."

Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at 502-582-4646 or bloosemore@courier-journal.com.