“A halal version of an iconic alcoholic drink made by a U.S.-based company is expected to hit supermarket shelves in the UK this December, the Independent reported this week. An alcohol-free whiskey, produced by Florida-based ArKay will sell for a little less than $16 a bottle, much to the dismay of the Scotch Whisky Association, which labeled the product in a 2011 Daily Mail article as an effort to capitalize on the drink’s reputation………….”

Islamic halal whiskey. It was bound to happen.
It is the drink of royals (literally) in the Middle East: single malt, double malt, any malt. Westerners can buy it in hotels in a couple of countries, others can get flogged for trying. On the Persian Gulf, royals and oligarchs can fly it in by the crate, some others can buy it in the black market. Th desperate peons try distilling it, often to disastrous and tragic results.

So it is nice to see a cheaper and harmless and liver-friendly version of it available for the plebeians. And it is all probably kosher and halal.

But, some might say that: a pig with lipstick is still a pig. Even if we call it halal or kosher.

Cheers, as the heathens might say…..

Mohammed Haider Ghuloum

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