Vegan Liquor -Share the News on the Booze

alcohol

Hello again! So, after exploring vegan wines and beers, a trip down the booze lane is up. Only yesterday, I went to the store to buy some groceries, and I thought of getting a nice bottle of wine for the weekend. I checked on barnivore to see if it was vegan friendly, and yes, it was, so one bottle was added to the shopping cart.

Today, that bottle stands on the shelf, unopened, but now we’re going to open a bottle of knowledge about booze and see whether it is vegan.

Liquor – is it Vegan?

Yes, luckily nearly every brand of liquor (hard liquor) is. Distilled spirits are vegan. Ah, those age old recipes, you gotta love them 🙂 . Most vodka is vegan (not all – but I will tell you which ones in a moment). Cream liquors are not vegan either. Baileys has dairy in it, but there is now a vegan version available. The company has released vegan Baileys. Unfortunately, it is not sold in my hometown.

liquor-store

The vegan version is called Baileys Almande Almondmilk Liquor, but only if it is marked “vegan” on the bottle. If the bottle doesn’t have that mark, according to barnivore it is not vegan.

Let’s list the hard liquors that are vegan. Brandy, whisky, rum, vodka, tequila, gin, amaretto are vegan friendly. However, when I checked the barnivore list, I came across a few exceptions. There always have to be exceptions, don’t they? It’s nearly mandatory, just like in grammar.

Non-Vegan Booze – A few Exceptions to the Rule

For example, Amaretto Del Amor is not vegan friendly, neither are Amador Ten Barrels Hop Whisky, Amador Double Barrel Bourbon, American Fruits Black Currant Cordial (other American Fruits liquors and brandy are vegan, though), American honey (by Wild Turkey), Angel’s Envy Bourbon Whisky.

I like rum, so I’m relieved that it is vegan. Nonetheless, one sneaky llittle exception also has to stick out its bottle neck, the Adelaide Hills Gunnery Spiced White Rum. I’ve never had that one before anyway, and I haven’t seen it anywhere on store shelves, but I guess it doesn’t get imported in Mexico.

rum

Most vodka is also vegan, like I mentioned before. The non-vegan ones are Pinnacle vodka, the Pucker vodkas, UV Candybar and UV Coconut vodka, Silent Sam vodka, Stoli Salted Caramel vodka, and a few more. I have never heard of any of them, except for Stoli (but not the salted caramel kind), but I am not a vodka drinker anyway. I never buy it.

I must admit though that the best vodka I have ever had was in Poland. When I stayed in Warsaw for a few days we went to several restaurants where they offered their own homemade vodka. I have never been a fan of vodka, but I tried it, out of curiosity, and oh my God, it was the best I have ever had, so tasty! When I left Poland, I made sure to buy a few local vodkas, because I knew that I would not find them back home. Such flavor, incredible!

Vegan Booze – The Famous Brands

So, what about the brands that everyone knows?

  • 1800 tequila, yes it’s vegan 🙂 While I don’t drink tequila (perhaps once or twice a year), I know that this one is a high quality one. Here in Los Cabos, they sell these T-shirts with the words “One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Floor Tequila 😉
  • 2 Gingers Irish Whisky
  • 2 bar Spirits Moonshine
  • Absolut Vodka
  • Admiral Nelson’s Rum
  • Amarito Ammaretto
  • Di Amore Amaretto
  • Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy Amarettowhisky
  • Angostura Rum
  • Angus Dundee Pure Malt Scotch Whiskey
  • Bacardi Silver
  • Baja Tequila Liquor
  • Baker’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky
  • Barret’s London Dry Gin
  • Beefeater Gin
  • Bombay Sapphire Gin
  • Gordon’s Gin
  • Canadian Whisky
  • Canadian Crown
  • Canadian Club Whisky
  • Don Julio Tequila
  • Gran Centenario Tequila
  • Jose Cuervo Tequila
  • El Jimador Tequila
  • Campari Cabo Wabo Tequila
    • This has an interesting story. Cabo Wabo Tequila was founded by rock singer and guitarist Sammy Hagar. In 1990, here in Los Cabos, my hometown, Sammy Hagar opened a bar-restaurant called Cabo Wabo. Since then, he has done much for the community and he comes here every year for his three-day birthday bash. He performs on stage for three days with guests (other famous singers or bands). It is an event that attracts many fans from the US (and also other countries). They camp out on the street for weeks to get tickets.
      guitar
    • Campari bought 80% interest of Cabo Wabo Tequila.
    • So, I’m honored to include Campari Cabo Wabo Tequila here on this list, and I hope that one day I can see Sammy Hagar at Cabo Wabo. I’m not going to camp out on the street for a ticket; I hope to get one online, but they’re always sold out in minutes …
  • Captain Morgan Rum
  • Chivas Regal
  • Cointreau
  • Connemara Whiskey
  • Highland Park Single Malt Scotch Whisky
  • Copa de Oro Liquor
  • Copa de Oro Rum
  • Havana Bay rum
  • Courvoisier Cognac
  • Hennessy Cognac
  • Cuba Vodkas
  • DANZA vodkas
  • Grey Goose Vodka
  • Ketel One Vodka
  • Finlandia
  • Frangelico
  • Glenfiddich
  • Glenmorangie
  • Grand Marnier
  • Jack Daniels
  • Jameson Irish Whiskey
  • Johnny Walker
  • Jägermeister
  • Jim Beam Kentucky Bourbon Whisky
  • Jim Beam Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky
  • Kahlúa
  • Malibu
  • Martell Cognac
  • Matusalem Rum
  • Ouzo 12
  • Ramazotti
  • Sauza Tequilas
  • Smirnoff
  • Sobieski
  • Southern Comfort Bold Black Cherry
  • Stoli (except for the one I mentioned in the paragraph about non-vegan liquors)
  • Stolichnaya
  • The Famous Grouse Whisky
  • The Kraken Black Spiced Rum
  • Three Olives
  • Ultimate Vodka

This list is actually much, much longer, but I only wanted to show the names that are most known. They are ordered alphabetically, but sometimes I grouped same kinds together, tequilas with tequilas for example. If I ommitted a specific brand you were interested in, please check on Barnivore.

So, many options are available. While there are certainly non-vegan liquors, the list of vegan friendly ones is extensive. Was there someone who said that being vegan is difficult? Who said that, huh? 😉

tequila

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16 thoughts on “Vegan Liquor -Share the News on the Booze”

  1. Thank you thank you thank you for this post.  I am vegan and always feel guilty when I drink alcohol and know that there is probably a chance of animal products in it.  The beers I have a pretty good handle on knowing what is animal free but the Liquors and the wines I was really just guessing and hoping.  I am glad to see that some of my favorite liquors are still vegan.  Do you have any list for vegan wines?

    Reply
  2. Thank you so much for sharing all the vegan liquors! It is so hard to find one also for the wines as well. I used to be a mixologist and most of the time people do not know that beers and wines are not vegan friendly. So, I have been drinking a lot of hard liquor mix with soda. For instance, they use fish stomach to make beers clear. The list is very convenient thanks for that, have to save it on my google doc. Happy drinking for me 🙂 

    Reply
  3. Wow! this is a great breakdown of vegan booze, even though there are so many different types of vodka alone that one cannot possibly scratch the serfice of the thousands of different brand being vegan or non-vegan. I was sort of surprised that there are so many we don’t have to worry about being vegan. If you take a bland or original type of vodka or other alcohol, sounds like you are safe. 

    Reply
    • Hi Andrew,

      Very true, if you take a bland or original type of vodka or any other liquor you’re pretty safe 😉

      Thank you for your comment!

      Reply
  4. Thank you for doing all the research needed to put this list together: quite a task! It’s really good to know that I can offer my vegan friends an alcoholic drink and be assured that it meets their needs. Very important to be aware of the few exceptions to the rule as well. Thanks again for sharing.

    Reply
  5. Very useful article thank you.

    It’s nice to have all the information in one place, rather than continually checking the labels etc. I obviously suspected Baileys etc would not be vegan so have never bought it, but I was always a bit nervous about other spirits like vodka and Jack Daniels(my favourite). The labels are not really that clear in my view.

    Reply
  6. Who knew, there are vegan liquors. I just figured if you were vegan that you did not drink alcohol. But, there is quite a list of vegan friendly drinks to choose from. Good to know. I am not too familiar with the vegan diet and what is allowed and what is not allowed. Now, what to use for a mixer besides club soda. Thanks, Deanna

    Reply
    • Hi Deanna,

      A vegan diet excludes animals and animal products such as dairy, gelatin, bee honey, etc. There is a lot of information on my website if you’d like to know more 🙂

      Thank you for your comment!

      Reply
  7. Hi Christine,
    I drink sometimes(a very light drinker) but I didn’t know there are vegan liquors too. I am glad I learn something new and interesting knowledge from your articles.

    Is the reason those are labeled as vegan liquors because of the process they make it? Like no gelatin and isinglass used for the fining process? or because of other reasons?

    It’s great to see all vegans could have something to drink when outing, love it.

    Matt

    Reply
    • Hi Matt,
      Most of them are distilled spirits, so there is no need for animal products to clarify. Isinglass and gelatin are used for wines and beers. There are, of course, some cream liquors that include dairy. It is astonishing how many liquors are vegan 😉

      Reply
  8. Thank you Christina for this information…great write up. I wrongly thought that all beers wines and spirits are vegan. Have you tried Leffe met Grenadine?
    I am happy to hear that you visited Poland, country of my origin…I am living now with my family in Melbourne, Australia. Wonder if you remember name of Polish vodka you liked the most. Keep in touch please I am on WA and also I requested your FB friendship…

    Reply
    • Hi Tom!

      I went to Poland many years ago, so I do not remember the names of the local vodkas anymore. They were so good, though! Poland is a beautiful country, by the way.
      I love Leffe, it’s a great beer. I have not tried it with grenadine yet, it sounds interesting. I will give that a try.
      Thanks for your comment and for connecting here 🙂
      Stay safe!

      Reply

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