Kosher Cocktail Ingredient Cheat Sheet

	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	N	O	P
1	Category	Style	Popular Brands	Notes	Kosher Considerations	Kosher Brands	Substitutes/Alternatives
2	Amaro	Aperitivo	Campari, Aperol, Suze, Cappelletti	Amari are bitter and/or herbal liqueurs popular in Italy. Aperitivo style amari are generally red or orange in color (though some are clear) and generally have prominent flavors of bitter orange	The base alcohol of the liqueur is made from wine in some cases (problematic), while in other cases it is grain spirit (ok). Additionally, the ingredients and production processes are generally not publicly known.	Kosher certified Campari and Aperol are available in Israel, and Campari is certified in Argentina. The Luxardo brand of liqueurs is kosher certified by KLBD and has several options in this category, including Luxardo Bitter and Luxardo Bitter Bianco. Vincenzi is OU certified and produces versions of both Aperol (Vincenzi Arancia Aperitivo) and Campari (Vincenzi Capasso Aperitivo).	Cocktails that call for amari probably would be substantially different if something else was used to substitute, but you could try replacing the amaro with whatever liqueur you have on hand that is closest in flavor, and add or increase bitters.
3		Fernet	Fernet Branca	Amari are bitter and/or herbal liqueurs popular in Italy. Fernet style amari are generally strongly flavored, with a taste commonly described as 'medicinal'	The base alcohol of the liqueur is made from wine in some cases (problematic), while in other cases it is grain spirit (ok). Additionally, the ingredients and production processes are generally not publicly known.	Fernet Branca may be available with certification in Israel. Both Luxardo and Jelinek produce kosher certified Fernet, certified by KLBD and OU respectively (Jelinek's is a different fernet style than the Branca). Underberg is an OU-certified intensely flavored herbal digestif that can evoke Fernet.	Cocktails that call for amari probably would be substantially different if something else was used to substitute, but you could try replacing the amaro with whatever liqueur you have on hand that is closest in flavor, and add or increase bitters.
4		Medium	Ciociaro, Cynar, Lucano, Nardini, Cardamaro, Melletti, Ramazzotti, Nonino, Averna, Abano	Amari are bitter and/or herbal liqueurs popular in Italy. Medium amari are generally brown in color and have flavors of various herbs and spices, with some described as cola flavored.	The base alcohol of the liqueur is made from wine in some cases (problematic), while in other cases it is grain spirit (ok). Additionally, the ingredients and production processes are generally not publicly known.	Luxardo Amaro Abano is certified by the KLBD, and Jelinek Amaro is certified by the OU. Additionally, Ramazzotti is certifed kosher by a Rabbi Hazzan in Italy. Cynar is approved by UK Kosher in Argentina, which in turn is approved by Rabbi Eidlitz.	Cocktails that call for amari probably would be substantially different if something else was used to substitute, but you could try replacing the amaro with whatever liqueur you have on hand that is closest in flavor, and add or increase bitters.
5		Quinquina/Chinato	Cocchi Americano, Lillet, Bonal Gentiane	Amari are bitter and/or herbal liqueurs popular in Italy. Quinquina/chinato style amari are flavored with quinine to produce a bitter taste	These tend to be wine based so would present a problem	None	The closest substitute would probably be a dry vermouth, or you could try a different style of amaro	Aperifitf	Luxardo Bitter	Vincenzi
6	Brandy	Cognac	Hennessy	Cognac is a brandy distilled from grapes and then aged in barrels for specified lengths of time	Since the base is wine this would not be kosher unless produced using kosher wine requirements	Louis Royer cognac is certified by the OU	Depending on the cocktail you may be able to substitute another spirit eg whiskey		Luxardo Abano	Jelinex Amaro
7		Eaux de vie/Fruit Brandy	Massenez, Clear Creek, Laird's	These are a category of brandy produced by fermenting fruit: Apple (Calvados or Apple Brandy), Pear (Poire William), Cherry (Kirsch), Plum (Slivovitz)	There is no specific kosher issue but could be produced with non kosher equipment (i.e. equipment used for wine or grape brandy). Possibly some brands could mix the product with grape-derived spirit but generally these are labeled as 100% of whatever the fruit base is. Some varieties like Calvados have legally required production protocols (similar to Champagne, Parmesan, etc) that may preclude the possibility of non-kosher ingredients being mixed in.	Black Dirt Distillery produces an Apple Brandy certified by the Star-K. Boulard produces kosher Calvados (apple) certified by the KLBD. Jelinek produces a kosher Poire William (pear) brandy certified by the OU. There are a number of Kirsch (cherry) brandies produced by Dettling. And there are several kosher Slivovitz (plum) brandies, e.g. Jelinek.			Luxardo Fernet
8		Pisco/Grappa		Pisco is a brandy distilled from grapes and produced in Peru. Grappa is from Italy and is made from grape skins.	Since the base is wine this would not be kosher unless produced using kosher wine requirements	None	Cognac is also a grape brandy so should be fairly close, although cognac is aged in barrels and pisco is unaged so they are not exactly the same. Further pisco undergoes a single distillation and is distilled to proof, rather than relying on dilution.
9	Liqueur	Benedictine		A sweet herbal liqueur made from a secret blend of ingredients	Kosher status is disputed, apparently had a brandy base at one point in time. There is a Benedictine product called B&B (Benedictine & Brandy) which certainly contains brandy and is not kosher. Google 'is Benedictine kosher' for details.	CRC and KLBD both list as not recommended; Rav Landau of Bnei Brak, however, certified it as kosher. It is accepted by Chabad and as indicated in this article, is considered b'dieved kosher. Note that the B&B version has brandy and is unequivocally not kosher.	Can try substituting other sweet herbal liqueur such as Galliano or Drambuie
10		Chartreuse	Green Chartreuse, Yellow Chartreuse	A sweet herbal liqueur made from a secret blend of ingredients	Base could possibly be grape spirits, ingredients are unknown	None	Chartreuse is unique, but you can substitute another herbal liqueur such as Galliano, Drambuie, or Benedictine (but see kosher info on Benedictine)
11		'Creme de' liqueurs	Giffard, Marie Brizard	These are sweet, single-flavor liqueurs that come in a multitude of flavors including mint (creme de menthe), chocolate (creme de cacao), peach (creme de peche) and others.	Base could possibly be grape spirits, ingredients are unknown	The Bols, Giffard and Lejay brands are certified by the KLBD (check website to confirm individual flavors, there are a small number that are not certified). The Leroux and DeKuyper brands of liqueurs are certifed by the OU.
12		Drambuie		A sweet herbal liqueur with a base of Scotch whisky	Kosher	Certified by KLBD
13		Galliano L'Autentico		A sweet herbal liqueur	Kosher	Certified by KLBD (Galliano Ristretto is not kosher)
14		Maraschino	Luxardo, Maraska	Cherry flavored liqueur	Usually kosher	Luxardo is certified by KLBD, Maraska is certified by the local Rabbi in Croatia
15		St Germain		Elderflower flavored liqueur	Base may be grape spirits	Bols and DeKuyper both produce elderflower liqueurs certified by KLBD. D'Arbo elderflower syrup is certified by the OU.
16		Strega		A sweet herbal liqueur made from a secret blend of ingredients	Base may be grape spirits	None	Strega is unique, but you can substitute another herbal liqueur such as Galliano, Drambuie, or Benedictine (but see kosher info on Benedictine)
17		Triple Sec/Curacao	Cointreau, Grand Marnier, Combier	Triple Sec and Curacao are orange flavored liqueurs	Base could be brandy made from grapes (Grand Marnier has a brandy base)	Cointreau is certified by KLBD. Other triple sec/curacao liqueurs are produced by Leroux and DeKuyper among others
18		Velvet Falernum	John D. Taylor	A clove/lime flavored liqueur	Usually kosher	John D. Taylor Velvet Falernum is certified by the KLBD
19	Port	Tawny, Ruby		Port is a sweet fortified wine produced in Portugal	Wine is not kosher unless specifically produced using kosher wine requirements.	Kedem makes a Port called 'Kedem New York State Port Wine'	The easiest substitute would be a high alcohol sweet or dessert wine.
20	Sherry	Fino, Manzanilla, Amontillado, Oloroso, Cream	Gonzalez-Byass, Lustau	Sherry is a type of fortified wine produced using specific methods in the Jerez region of Spain	Wine is not kosher unless specifically produced using kosher wine requirements.	There is a major sherry brand, 'Tio Pepe' by Gonzalez-Byass, that does kosher runs of Fino sherry and these bottles can be found at kosher wine retailers. Kedem also produces a wine called 'Sherry Royale' which is probably most comparable to the Cream style of sherry (high alcohol and sweet)	Sherry has its own unique flavor, but you could substitute a dry white wine or dry vermouth for Fino or Manzanilla sherry. Other types of sherry (Amontillado or Oloroso) are oxidized during production which produces flavors that are often described as 'nutty'. There may not be a substitute of similar flavor.
21	Vermouth	Dry, Sweet, Bianco	Martini & Rossi, Dolin, Carpano	Vermouth is wine that has been fortified (added alcohol) and spiced with herbs.	Wine is not kosher unless specifically produced using kosher wine requirements.	Some popular vermouth brands (e.g. Martini & Rossi) are available with certification in Israel but not in the US. Kedem produces both a sweet and a dry vermouth, which are fairly easy to find at kosher wine retailers.	If you don't have vermouth you could substitute sweet or dry wine. You can also make your own vermouth by infusing wine with herbs - there are many recipes online.
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