Who said a kiddush is only for Shabbat or Yom Tov?

On June 19, the third annual KiddushFest, Worlds of Whisky, Brew and Que, was held in Manhattan, hosted by Ari Cohen and Ari White. In addition to the more than 300 whiskies from around the world at the event, participants got to partake in a gala kiddush provided by The Wandering Que, which included foods such as cholents, meats, salads, herring, lox, and even gefilte fish balls.

KiddushFest was born when Cohen and White realized that a void existed in the Jewish community for a kosher whisky event, not held on a Friday or Saturday. When Cohen heard that White was planning such an event, he reached out to him offering his assistance: “I know a lot of people in the whisky world, and I’d like to help you set this up.” It took six weeks from that conversation until Cohen and White created the first KiddushFest, held almost exactly four years ago. “We had maybe 40 whiskies that night,” Cohen stated.

The next KiddushFest was planned for 2020, which, like many things 2020, didn’t happen. Fast forward to 2023: This year’s KiddushFest was held in its largest event space to date at 230 Fifth Avenue, with the festivities being held in both an indoor room and outdoor rooftop, complete with a rooftop cigar bar.

As to all of the new whiskies at the event, Cohen stated, “I love bringing in new and emerging brands, and putting them in front of people who may not otherwise be able to taste them. New vendors see the number of whiskies that are here and realize that this is something that the Jewish community wants to see.”

Most of the brands at the event had American representatives. DS Tayman, however, a UK whisky brand, traveled far to get to KiddushFest. “We’ve come here from the UK to talk about our whiskies with our customer base,” said a representative. “We want to break new ground with different ages, finishes, woods, etc., and we are proud to be at KiddushFest, which is at the forefront of promoting whisky, to showcase our brand.”

In addition to whiskies, the event showcased about 15-20 different tequilas, five different types of rum, as well as vodkas and gins. The brand Tip Top Proper Cocktails offered cocktails in a can. Noting that there are two additional kosher cocktail brands that will hopefully be joining KiddushFest next year, Cohen stated that they are trying to expand KiddushFest from what is often considered a whisky event to a spirits event.

It was apparent from the festive atmosphere that everyone enjoyed the food and drink. Cohen’s favorite part of the event, however, is admittedly not sampling the drinks. “What I love about these events is getting to meet the people who are selling the whiskies and hearing their stories.” While White had not yet decided his favorite thing about this year’s KiddushFest, he did note with certainty that what he was most excited about at last year’s event was all of the new offerings coming out of Israel.

First-time KiddushFest attendee Michelle Love echoed these sentiments, stating that “I not only love trying the diversity of whiskies that are here, but I really enjoy talking to the representatives from the different whisky brands and learning about new whiskies.”

Proud of the event’s charity component, Cohen stated that “each year at KiddushFest we partner with a different charity, and this year we are proud to be working with Gift of Life, which has a table here.” The event held a raffle towards which brands contributed bottles, with all of the raffle profits going to Gift of Life. A portion of all ticket sales for the event itself also goes to Gift of Life.

With respect to future KiddushFests, Cohen hopes that they will continue to grow, with even more brands and attendees. “The hardest thing to get people to understand is what the event really is,” he remarked. “While Kosher Food and Wine Experience has done a great thing for kosher wine, we are hoping to do the same thing for kosher whisky and spirits.”

Reflecting on the evening, I could have sworn I heard my father’s voice in my ear numerous times stating what he often did before Shabbat lunch: “I’ll have a little bit of schnapps for kiddush.” According to Cohen, “Perhaps the tradition of having schnapps for kiddush started because kosher wine was difficult to get in Europe.” Regardless of how the Jewish community was introduced to spirits, however, Cohen remarked that “the expansion of the concept of ‘a bissel of schnapps’” to this type of event with hundreds of attendees is certainly impressive.

As White elaborated, “The reason for people to come to KiddushFest is to come and see what you like, taste it, and bring those drinks back to your own kiddushes.”

Judith Falk is the creator of the Upper West Side Shtetl Facebook group and can be found on Instagram @upperwestsideshtetl. She is a lawyer by day and a former legal reporter.