Introduction
Its name is inspired by the curve of the coast in California. But Malibu coconut flavoured rum actually originates from the small island of Curaçao. Given its population of just 150,000, there are few Jews on the isle. Estimates put the number at around 350 people. But for these 350, its vital to know whether Malibu rum is kosher.
If you want to know for yourself, or for your Jewish drinking buddies, we’ve looked into it. It’s important research for the thousands of Jewish pina colada fans around the world! We’ve checked with international Rabbinical councils to get their view. Read on to discover whether Malibu coconut rum is kosher…
What does it mean for Malibu to be kosher?
Some of the most frequently asked questions by people who are considering moving to Israel are about Kosher food and drink. In fact, a Google search for the phrase “Kosher in Israel” will yield around 11.9 million results!
If you know anything about kosher food, you’ll understand the basics. Kosher food is prepared or processed in accordance with certain Jewish religious laws.
Notoriously, meat and dairy can’t be combined. They can’t even be prepared together in strict observance of the kashrut rules.
All descendants of Abraham will look for the hechsher to check if a product is kosher. This award is normally provided by a local rabbinical certification agency. It shows the purchaser that the goods are certified as conforming to appropriate production standards.
This is common for wine, which is frequently drunk at Jewish religious occasions. Both the equipment used and the production methods must be kosher. Not only this, but the wine must be grown and bottled by Jews.
However, Malibu is produced for a much broader target market. This means its kosher status isn’t as clear-cut as for specially produced drinks. So the million dollar question is – is Malibu Caribbean rum kosher?
Is Malibu kosher?
There isn’t an entirely straight answer to this question. Because it’s mass produced, it’s not possible for rabbis to observe the entire production process. This means it’s difficult for them to consider whether it should have the hechsher. But rabbis seem to be understandably erring on the side of caution when it comes to their decision.
What do Star-K think?
The Star-K, based in Baltimore, are one of America’s biggest kosher certification agencies. They have made a clear pronouncement.
They conclude that Malibu is not approved. This means they don’t believe it is kosher.
The Star-K haven’t given a reason publicly. So we asked Rabbi Zvi Holland, Star-K’s Kashrus administrator for alcoholic beverages and Director of Special Projects.
He told us the following:
“International kosher standards require any item with added flavors to be certified, as [an] ingredient review never shows the entire kosher picture, like any processed item, equipment, and components of possible items”.
Malibu’s producers, Pernod Ricard, state that they use flavourings and coconut extract. This gives Malibu its famous coconutty taste. Unfortunately, because they aren’t clear on what these are and how they’re produced, Star-K can’t give Malibu the hechsher.
As a result of this production process, you should consider Malibu rum to not be kosher.
What do Chicago Rabbinical Council think?
The Chicago Rabbinical Council also offer similar services. They’ve produced a massive list of drinks that are ‘certified’ as kosher, and don’t require a hechsher. They’ve also ‘approved’ many others, based on their understanding of the ingredients and distillation process.
Yet amazingly, despite this list being 38 pages long, they haven’t considered Malibu!
Based on the statements of Star-K, however, we have to err on the side of caution. You should consider that Malibu is not kosher.
Of course, this position is always under review. The methods used in breweries and distilleries around the world often change. New technology becomes available often. This means that this position may change. We’ll endeavour to keep this page updated if we learn more!
Is Malibu rum kosher for Passover?
Passover, also known as the Festival of Matzos, is an eight-day feast that takes place in the spring. It’s marked by the retelling of the story of the Exodus. This is when God appeared to Moses and instructed him to free God’s people from slavery in Egypt.
The feast begins on April 15 and ends on April 25. During that time, families enjoy traditional foods like matzo ball soup, charoset, and gefilte fish. As you may already know, there are special rules about what you can and can’t eat during the Pesach.
Unfortunately, this includes most types of alcoholic beverages. As we’ve seen, we’ve already concluded that Malibu coconut rum isn’t kosher.
This means that, unfortunately, Malibu rum isn’t kosher for Passover either.
Unfortunately, as Rabbi Zvi Holland of Star-K says, the flavourings used in Malibu do not have Pesach approval.
Plus, cross-contaminants might be introduced during production. There are normally lots of other brands produced in the same distillery.
We can also state with near certainty that gentiles will have been involved in the process. There are lots of Pernod Ricard distilleries across the world that produce Malibu under licence.
For those who follow the Torah precisely, Malibu can’t be kosher for these reasons.
Kosher alternatives to Malibu
Helpfully, there are a few kosher alternatives to Malibu that you could try.
Remember that list from the Chicago Rabbinical Council that we mentioned earlier? Helpfully, although they haven’t concluded on Malibu, the Council have approved a few types of coconut rum that you could try instead.
Cruzan Coconut Rum is very similar to Malibu, and has been certified as kosher by the Council and the Orthodox Union.
The Union have also certified Rum Jumbie Coconut Splash, another similar alternative.
Or if you’re looking for something to splash into your pina colada, you could try DeKuyper Tropical Coconut Liqueur.
Lastly, Smirnoff coconut vodka has been certified by the Council and KSA. It’s not quite rum, but it is more alcoholic! The website even highlights that it’s kosher certified and gluten free.
But remember: cocktail ingredients, like coconut milk or cream of coconut, require kosher certification on a case-by-case basis!
Conclusion
In short, we have to conclude that Malibu rum is not kosher.
First of all, there is no Jewish agency that we can find that has certified the famous Caribbean coconut rum as kosher.
Second, Kosher means, “fit” – that is, fit for Jewish use. Therefore, a kosher product is one that is suitable for the Jewish diet. Malibu rum is not “fit” for the Jewish diet, especially on Pesach.
This may come as a disappointment or a surprise. But we think it’s better to know, than to accidentally break a tenet of your faith.
And the good news is there are lots of kosher certified alternatives you can try!
If you want to learn more about other spirits, we’ve also written about whether soju is kosher here!