Q & A: Is alcohol Vegan?

There is no simple answer to this golden question, as with everything, you can never be completely sure if an alcoholic beverage is 100% Vegan.  

There are three ways to identify a vegan beverage:

1) the ingredients must be free of animal parts
2) the process/filtration/distilling must be free from animal parts
3) and lastly the packaging must be animal free too

Which is why Carlsberg is a vegan beer. 

Internationally, there are many available, such as Absolut, Bacardi Rum, Grey Goose, Malibu Rum and Skyy Vodka. So buy the imported bottles at your local shop.

The list isn't very long but don’t fret;  we will attempt to make the elimination process easier for you, by giving you a list of animal derived additives/ingredients that are most commonly found in alcohol bottles over the counter.

Stay clear of brands with the following on the labels:

Albumin, which is derived from eggs or dried blood

Casein, derived from milk

Charcoal, often derived from animal bone

Carmine derived from insects

Glyceryl monostearate is an animal derivative from the breakdown of fats

Lactose and lactobacillus or lactic acid

Gelatin made from bones, skin, and tendons

Pepsin a heading agent sometimes derived from pigs

Sugar, which is often whitened using bone charcoal

Honey, derived from bees

Chitin, derived from the shells of crabs, lobsters

These are just a few of the common ones, so the next time you head to the store make sure to check before you buy.

If you’re curious to find out more about this topic, author Tanvi Sonawane has given us her sure shot way to identify vegan products.

Help us out, if you know of a brand that's vegan and delicious, write to us in the comments, we love learning from our vegan community.

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