Confirmed: Jameson Whiskey is Vegan

Awesome thanks!:)

Just let a vegan friend of mine know, who happens to like her whiskey...she will be pleased:D

sweet-rasmus wrote: »

if anyone wants to contain Jameson ....

I know I do.

OJ sounds disgusting though and 7-Up not much better! Water is vegan too so just a drop of that to 'cut' the spirit. Ice is acceptable but unnecessary.

Jameson aint too bad with white lemonade...still wont cut the mustard though compared to having it straight

Mellor wrote: »

Why was there any doubt about Jameson?

Anyone




Also, Cola>Lemonade, if you are going to mix it with a soft drink.
Ginger ale or Dry is better again,
Water good,
Ice is good if at home, not viable in pubs n clubs

Mellor wrote: »

Anyone

Yeah I think I know why it could be suspect. Don't especially want to share it though!

rubadub wrote: »

I would still be doubtful, in other threads I have said the emails/questions might have to be very specific, they might not even realise things themselves. e.g. jameson is matured in oak barrels in which sherry was used, are they certain that these winerys are making vegan wine/sherry? They also use bourbon casks from the US which again could be contaminated.

As far as I know Bourbon is 100% veg. Maker's Mark is quite nice :pac:

Peanut wrote: »

As far as I know Bourbon is 100% veg.

Well bourbon is just a type, so is Oloroso Sherry, so it would be like saying lager is 100% vegan.

http://www.barnivore.com/liquor/183/Makers-Mark

NO animal products are used in the distilling, filtering or bottling of Maker's Mark.

There is no mention of the wash previous to distillation, the wash being the fermented grains sort of like a beer. I brought this up before in other threads. Animal based finings could be used in the wash to clear it prior to distillation, of which none will transfer over into the final product. You only have to see the threads where professional chefs do not know the real meaning of vegan so it is likely others are confused too. Since no finings pass over during distillation many people could think that it is vegan.

It would be good if companies were told of instances where products are not vegan, like using finings prior to disillation, or non-vegan glue on their bottle labels. It might get them thinking more, I am just shocked to see so many alcohols listed as vegan and wonder if they really are. Here is one instance of a company being told they were wrong.

http://www.barnivore.com/liquor/884/B-n-dictine-Liqueur

Benedictine Liqueur Not Vegan Friendly

Email from Rebecca:
"BENEDICTINE is not vegan. We went to the distillery in France last year and it contains honey. Ancient recipe so I can't see them changing it."

Company Email:
"Bénédictine is fully suitable for Vegans ; Nothing ,during all the process, is used coming from animal sources. " (To which we emailed about honey clarification)

Company Email:
"Bénédictine contains honey but among vegans this is still very controversial ; in fact my response was based on Kosher regulations very strict in terms of animal derivatives ;
It is said that honey is not (unlike Gelee Royale ) , bees carry pollen exactly like birds carry seeds , and for birds botanicals often are a production coming from animal regurgitation !"

Peanut wrote: »

Ok I wasn't aware that finings might possibly be used in the wash. I thought distillation and subsequent chill filtering would take care of most of that.

I used to have a still myself and have read a lot about the subject, most people will clear a wash before distilling, this is since the burning/heated yeast can impart flavours into the final distillate. Absolutely no solids will pass over during the distillation process so no yeast or finings etc are in the distillate. This is why I think some will call it vegan, as they wrongly think vegan means no animal products in the actual drink (or is this what some would actually consider vegan?).

Peanut wrote: »

The vegetarian society doesn't mention it on their page here, although there is contradictory information from Jameson again here.

Is that a contradiction? there is no animal products in the end product it so it is vegetarian, that pages own definition says

A vegetarian does not eat any meat, poultry, game, fish, shellfish or crustacea, or slaughter by-products.

They would not be eating/drinking the finings as they are left behind upon distillation.

The barnivore sites says

"I wrote Jameson at least a year ago and inquired about the use of gelatin, isinglass, or other animal products in the whiskey. I received a personal email from an administrative employee who researched the matter. She thoroughly explained that isinglass was indeed used for clarification of the liquid, and though it was filtered out completely with the impurities from the clarified whiskey, that yes, technically, that meant that it did not fit my definition of vegan. She did state that that was the only animal-derived product in the process."

Peanut wrote: »

I'm not convinced that there would be a widespread process of clearing the wash when it's going to be distilled anyway.

Most distillers I knew did it, though they were hobby distillers. There is a lot of cleanup required after distilling yeasty washes so I would be surprised if the majority of commercial ones were not clearing, also I mentioned it imparts off flavours. This does not mean they are all using animal based finings/methods of course. They also mention the bone activated charcoal used for filtering by some distillers.

Peanut wrote: »

I think that's fairly clear cut when they say "No animal product is used in production.".

I would disagree, if professional chefs are confused these distillers could well be too. It was easy to find 2 cases where the spirits were not vegan, the one using honey and now jameson is questionable too. I would contact jameson with that email and ask them to clarify if their process has changed since then.

This line is questionable

There is no Isinglass in Bushmills products.

But is there any isinglass USED in its production. I would be certain there is no isinglass in the actual products, that is not in doubt.

I said earlier it might be a suggestion to inform them of how others fail, and provide a big checklist of things. e.g.Were animal based finings in any stage of the production of the beverages stored in the barrels prior to your spirits being stored in them?

Were animal based products used in the clearing of the wash before distillation? (this also applies to spirits produced and stored in the barrels before your product)

And put notes in like "NOTE: Vegan does not mean no animal products in the final distillate/product, if finings were used at any stage the product is not vegan."

Peanut wrote: »

With respect to Bourbon, the difference between it and Scotch for example is that they only use new oak casks for aging, .

I was not thinking of barrels with the bourbon, again it was the fining prior to distillation.

Jameson is vegan! This is good news....apart from the fact I have to avoid most wheat products -.-

Peanut wrote: »

You could try Redbreast or Green Spot, I think they just use barley malt ("pure pot still") and don't blend with spirits from other grains.

Yeah, most whiskeys & beers are brewed from barley, though could have wheat. But you are distilling the alcohol, so I doubt any allergens from wheat would pass over in the process, it is just pure alcohol going over, the colour & taste comes mainly from the barrels (i.e. it is not like beer) -though obviously you would want to speak to your doctor if it is a serious allergy.

I emailed jameson yesterday, no reply yet.