The Whisky Jewbilee Annual Event

For the past five years, Josh Hatton and Jason Johnstone-Yellin have been holding an event involving whisk(e)y tastings, education, and an overall fun evening. On June 15, at Studio 450, they will have their 2017 New York City show. (Other shows are in Chicago and Seattle.)

I’ve been intrigued with this event and set out to learn more about it by contacting Josh and talking to previous attendees and industry insiders.

Let’s start with their simple description from their website:

“The world famous Whisky Jewbilee is a nationwide parade of top-shelf spirits and fine kosher dining for whisky lovers of any faith.

I also learned that the Whisky Jewbilee is considered one of “the world’s top 10 whisky shows,” by The Spirits Business.”

Many of the people I spoke with told me previous shows have had huge turnouts and they consider the event to be top notch.

The Organizers

The Whisky Jewbilee is one of three businesses owned by the Jewish Whisky Company LLC, an umbrella organization that also owns two other companies—Whisky Geek Tours of Scotland and Single Cask Nation. The latter is an independent bottler that describes itself as follows:

Single Cask Nation began as a social fellowship or membership society organized around the right to purchase rare, fine single cask whiskies under the Single Cask Nation label. More than a mere club, Single Cask Nation represents a unique virtual community in which members share a common affinity for the quality whiskies and other spirits of the world.

The idea is as old as scotch whisky itself. Johnnie Walker, Chivas Brothers and many others began as purveyors selling whisky from various distillers. Single Cask Nation has some interesting offerings. You might want to check it out.

The event—Jews and Booze

You might not realize it or never thought about the fact that members of the Jewish faith love whisk(e)y. A June 2013 NY times article, had this to say:

“Whiskey has numerous fan bases, but few are more devoted — and arguably less noticed by the press and public — than Jews, particularly observant Jews. Synagogues are increasingly organizing events around whiskey, and whiskey makers are reaching out to the Jewish market.”

In fact, many religious Jews wanted to attend Whisky Fest but could not because it’s held on Friday and Saturday nights. So, Whisky Jewbilee was launched in 2012 (on a Thursday night) with the blessing of the Whisky Fest people. It grew significantly over the years.

Today, the event will cap at 450 attendees and 80 companies/brands will be present with roughly 300 whisk(e)y SKUs (individual brands). But check this out—this is not a drinking event as much as it is a knowledge event and a one to one dialogue between producer and consumer. You won’t find beautiful people from central casting behind the tables or actors mindlessly spewing memorized lines. What you will find are whisky aficionados and well-informed representatives of the distilleries.

By the way, many marketers have told me that kosher consumers are very brand loyal. Perhaps more so than many other market segments.

About that Kosher thing…

I’m far from an expert on Judaica matters but I couldn’t help but wonder about what possibly could be in whisk(e)y that would violate the rules of kosher. So, I spoke with Josh about it and did some research.

What I learned is that there is nothing in whisk(e)y to make it non-kosher. Wine on the other hand, because of its sacramental use, has strict kosher rules. But with a few minor exceptions, nearly all whiskies are okay.

The organizers welcome all whiskies regardless of maturation style. This means that whiskies matured in sherry, port or other wine based casks are perfectly fine and will be present at Whisky Jewbilee. They believe all whisk(e)y to be kosher-by-nature unless the whisk(e)y is flavored. At their event, only the food is under kosher supervision.

The flavored whisky situation has to do with the fact that the flavorings used to augment the whiskey taste might contain non-kosher elements like glycerin. It would take certification to assure observant Jews that the glycerin is a vegetable rather than animal based oil.

But you will find some amazing whiskies there including some of my favorites from Brenne Whisky, Koval Distillery, FEW Spirits, and the best in the world, including—Bowmore, Glen Grant, Four Roses, Michter’s, High West, and many more.

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The organizers of the event have invited me to be there and part 2 of this article will be after June 15. If you attend, please look for me and say hi.

The Chicago Whisky Jewbilee will be on November 9 at Artifact Events. The Seattle show will be some time in February or March.

And, remember, you don’t have to be Jewish to attend. Just enjoy!