{"id":56460,"date":"2024-08-16T13:54:26","date_gmt":"2024-08-16T12:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/post\/kahluas-not-vegetarian-what-now\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T19:42:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T18:42:57","slug":"kahluas-not-vegetarian-what-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/kahluas-not-vegetarian-what-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Kahl\u00faa’s Not Vegetarian \u2013 What Now?!"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week news got around that Kahl\u00faa Coffee Liqueur<\/a> \u2013 a staple for Espresso Martini, Baby Guinness, and White Russian cocktails \u2013 is not only not technically vegan, but not even vegetarian. It\u2019s news that\u2019s blown some minds. The same goes for popular Pernod stablemate Malibu rum liqueur, which it turns out had to create a separate vegan recipe for use in their recent high-profile Pi\u00f1a Oatlada collaboration with Oatly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kahl\u00faa, to be fair, states on its own site that it\u2019s \u201cNOT acceptable for a vegan or vegetarian diet\u201d. There are also sites such as Barnivore that do the leg work on things like this for you (lord bless the interwebs), but clearly many were still unaware. <\/span>The Spirits Business<\/span><\/a>\u2019 Lauren Bowes shared the facts earlier this week, with <\/span>Metro<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>LADbible<\/span><\/a> and others subsequently sharing it to still wider audiences, many of whom were shocked. Understandable really, given that there\u2019s nothing in the ingredients that would appear to not be vegetarian.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A

Many vegetarians were Kahl\u00faa-less (or is that how they’re left now?)<\/p><\/div>\n

Why isn\u2019t Kahl\u00faa vegetarian?<\/b><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s all about the sugar. Some refined cane sugars, especially in the US, use bone meal (electrically charred cattle bones) in the charcoal filtering process which makes it all sparkly and white. This isn\u2019t the case for organic sugar in the US or for any beet sugar. It\u2019s also not really an issue with UK sugar, although many icing sugars contain dried egg white (not an issue for vegetarians). That old bag of Tate & Lyle granulated cane sugar you keep in the cupboard for guests who inexplicably ask for sugar in their tea* is totally vegan, for example.<\/span><\/p>\n

Eyebrow raising aside, the reasons why various people follow vegetarian or more plant-based diets (or don’t) may also inform how much they care about this. Even for ethical vegans who seek to exclude animal cruelty from their lives wherever possible, it\u2019s nearly impossible to do so completely.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bone meal, for example, is also used as a fertiliser for growing food crops, including organic ones here in the UK. For drinks specifically, isinglass (from fish), gelatine, egg whites, or casein (milk protein) are all used as fining agents for clarification in many wines and beers. It\u2019s something of a minefield, and as a vegan myself (I know, the horror!) I\u2019m aware that I can be lazy about such processing considerations at times. Offer me two similar IPAs where I know one uses isinglass and the other doesn\u2019t use any animal derivatives during manufacture and it\u2019s an easy choice, however.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately it comes down to transparency, so everyone can make their own informed choices. It\u2019s also good to know these things before you whip up your next round of Espresso Martinis for friends (or indeed customers).<\/span><\/p>\n

Top 10 vegan alternatives to Kahl\u00faa<\/b><\/h2>\n

While it\u2019s sometimes difficult to be 100% sure \u2013 and Kahl\u00faa\u2019s transparency should absolutely be applauded despite it perhaps not being the finest PR week for them \u2013 the following alternatives are to the best of our knowledge entirely vegan.<\/span><\/p>\n

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FAIR. Caf\u00e9 Liqueur<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Let’s kick off with a certified vegan option, which is non-GMO and of course also Fair Trade certified. FAIR. Caf\u00e9 Liqueur is made with Arabica coffee beans from Mexico. At The Spirits Business Awards Liqueur Masters 2019, it was the only coffee liqueur to receive a Master medal, praised for its \u201croasted hazelnut\u201d finish.<\/span><\/p>\n