Let's see my religious friends swallowing this one and giving up Whiskey. It's all a power game by the Ultra Orthodox to show who is boss.

this is the best whiskey brand........so..who cares

Johnnie Walker is from Scotland. There it's called Whisky. They don't dilute their national drink with extra e's.

"In the meantime, kosher keepers will be forced to avoid drinking away their sorrows with a shot of whiskey." Is that the only reason that you drink

You can drink whisky just as long as you dont pick your nose on shabbat.

Then try Laphroig Then Jews wont need to worry if its Kosher or not.

who paid the Rabbi to make this claim (or didn't pay which pissed him off enough to say this) lets see,,,,,, and if anyone says I don't know what i'm talking about come check out the ORB

How many angels can dance on a pin?

This issue was under debate hundreds of years ago and merited rulings from Rabbis such as the Shach (not the Rav Shach of our times), about this issue which is discussed in the Talmud! Todays Rabbis are simply applying the rulings of hundreds years ago today the new situations of our time. Power? I think not. Should they just ignore an issue of Kashrut and cause people who don't know the procedure for making whiskey, but who care about kashrut to drink what MAY be not kosher?? Dan l'chaf zchut... even a little bit please....

It seems that most of the trayf whiskys are blends, so I'd say we've been done a favor here.

Every article I read at ynet.com seems to disparage Jews and their customs and observance. Although I read the english version, and most posters are from my own home country USA, I see so much anger and animosity towards religious Jews. I can obviously detect when the poster is a pro-pal type, by his/her disinformation about the 'state of palestine'. But when fellow Jews belittle those who follow the laws of Kashrut, or they dont understand why Jews dont want to have autopsys, I ask myself what has happened to the Jewish people. It is hard to be religious. It requires dedication and understanding. It requires study, it requires mediation, it requires physical and mental preparation. Those who have not tried cannot mock that which they don't understand. Religious Jews cannot be compared to Islamofascists. The Jews of Israel don't want to convert the entire world to Judaism, they want a JEWISH STATE which was promised, The Muslims already have at least 3 Islamic states. There are no Jewish states at this time. Why is this? I would recommend that all people of Jewish descent at least spend some time to understand your religion. There are many good resources on the Internet, including Aish.com. Maybe a little bit of knowledge and thought will cause you to understand the reasons religious Jews have to behave the way they do. I fully understand the reason this Whisky is being debated as for its Kosher status. I also fully understand why the Haredi are upset about the autopsy. It seems that a lot of Jews just don't understand what the jewish religion means. Most of these type of Jews are called the Bagel and lox Jews, because all they identify with is the bagels and lox most jewish caricatures enjoy. If you care about Hashem, Please learn about your roots. The creator, bless his name, waits for your return... Michael U

Quite frankly who cares if Jonny Walker is kosher - the stuff is fairly much undrinkable anyway.

The article is misleading. The debate over the kosher acceptability relates to Scotch whiskey specifically because it is commonly aged in sherry (non-kosher) casks. This concern does certainly not apply to bourbon, pictured in the article.

It taste great. It cannot be kosher. The rabbis have nothing better to do? Like working and paying taxes? Instead, they are 'checking" whisk(e)y! How many bottles one needs to down to figure out if it is kosher or not?

I urge all whiskey brands and Coca Cola to stop this nonsense. get rid off the kosher label. Tap water will do for the ones who do not like it. Why do I need to pay the rabbis? And for all my friend overseas. Come live in Israel if you want so much to be a good jew.....or better not.

It is interesting that some jews immediately make a link between neo-nazis and not eating kosher. I served in the IDF and like to eat pork and drink wiskey (kosher or not). I work and pay taxes. Neo-nazis bark about the kosher tax and probably like pork. So what? The rabbis should get real on this one and you too.

Are you suggesting that we should stop following Jewish law? No more Shabbat candles? No more Kashrut? I remind you that without Mitzvot, Jews would not have been Jews over the last couple of thousand years when there was no state of Israel to be nationaly connected to. There would be no IDF, and you would not be in Israel enjoying your pork and whisky. Can't you just let Rabbi's keep kosher, and allow them to help those who want to keep kosher to understand what is actually kosher? If we don't have Torah and we stop being Jews in a traditional sense, we are nothing more than westerners in arab land.

The ultra orthodox rabbis don't drink anyway. Besides whiskey is nasty kosher or not. Pointless article......

First they went after wigs, but I didn't stand up because I don't wear a wig, and they they went after whiskey, and I couldn't stand up up, because I finished the bottle. And so there was no one left standing when they came after me. (because we had to finish our collections before it became official)

You mentioned that we are nothing more than westerners in arab land if we do not keep Torah. If we keeo Torah are WE than Jews in an arab country? What is wrong about westerners. You are one of them because you are living in Toronto. I do not keep Torah and I am Jewish. You and your rabbies do not decide who is Jewish. I do not care about the past, I care more about the future and Torah is not part of it. Moreover, why do you talk about WE? You are living in Canada or are you writing about Canada? Anyway, Whiskey should not be kosher. You can have Mitz. Cheers.

What a sad excuse for a low-grade discussion. The issue is important because it speaks 1) intellectual honesty, 2) the economics of whisky marketing and share prices 3) the ease of catering to a wide public 4) and last, but certainly not least, because it is important to some of our fellow Jews. Just a little common good manners and respect, please. Uncle Ralph

This is a very old issue that regularly comes up for discussion. Rav Moshe Feinstein, the greated religious legislator of the past generation rule that whisky matured in wine casks is kosher. As wine is considered "batel" or void in a mixture where it is less than a sixth of the ingredients, the effect of old wine barrels has no bearing on the kashrut status. L'Chaim

is'nt it ironic the most hateful jew originate from israel? You see the jewish ruins and history every day and, you see the signs of god with every bomb that does far less damage then it should, you see it with every kassam that misses its target.... and still so many israelis make such great effort to mock the religious system which has existed for thousands of years. If you don't want to follow the rabbis... don't, but dont attack them for doing what is right and for what hundreds of thousands of people expect them to do. This said by a man who REALLY loves his whiskey..

One thing the article didn't mention is the halacha involved. When writing on religious topics, you should have a reporter with some knowledge of their religion. I am what most folks would classify as Chareidi based on my black velvet kippa. However, I have a Masters Degree and work more than I learn. In Kashrut, there are many things that are measured by percentages. Most things that are forbidden are looked over in mixtures with permitted foods in proportions of either 1 in 60 or in the minority. For example, milk that falls into meat (or vice versa) is allowed if the milk is less than 1/60 of the the meat. Kitniot on pesach are permitted if they are less than half of the mixture (and cannot be clearly identified). Non kosher wine however, has a different standard. Non kosher wine is allowed if it is less than 1/6 of the total. This issue was raised and settled by many of the great modern torah sages of this century when dealing with "blenders" that were added to whiskies. Many of these blenders consisted of non kosher wine and were used to raise the alcohol volume of whisky without raising the producers' tax burden, hence giving the consumer a lower price. The whiskies were deemed kosher because the blenders constituted less than 1/6 the volume of the whiskey. Having said all of this, it is impossible for the surface area of any vessel to constitue more than 1/6 the volume of the contents it holds and therefore all of these whiskies would be kosher. I think keeping kosher is a great way for any Jew to live a holy life and connect with their heritage. The hardest part is dealing with the idiocy of the kashrut industry and hashgacha organizations who's main purpose is, like any other business, to make money. Instead of the wellbeing of the entire Jewish People, and making Kashrut a fun and attainable goal being foremost on their minds, the kashrut industry has made their pockets their number one priority. If whisky might not be kosher, the whisky manufacturers will line up to get a hashgacha and once again, the kosher consumer will be left with fewer choices and those who don't keep kosher will feel more alienated.

Yaakov, you stated: but dont attack them for doing wat is right. You/they decide what is right? Of course, we mock the religious system because it is wrong. Rabbis want to rule our live. You will notice that when you live here in and not in CA. That something existed for a long time does not mean that it should continue to exist. Religion is after all the biggest mistake of human beings. Kassam are missing their targets because they are just primitive rockets with a limited range. Not because some people here are worshipping the right God. If you really love your whiskey you better give some of your local rabbis a call, soon you may have to do without it.

There are better whisky brands than Johnnie Walker. Take Tamnavulin, Isle of Jura and Glenfiddich for example.

NONSENSE BUTIL BESHISHIM