Kelsey Kinney: Okay. So this, so really, technically with distillation, there shouldn’t be any gluten contained in spirits made from gluten-containing grains. Because gluten is a protein, and no proteins are going to make it into a final distilled liquid. However, you’ve probably read quite a few articles on this topic I would imagine, and you’ll probably see as I’ve seen too, in the comment section on articles like this, where it says, “Yep, distilled liquor, totally fine. Gluten-free. Shouldn’t be a problem,” you’re going to see a lot of comments from people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity saying, “I have huge problems with these kinds of spirits and alcohol.”
So as much as I would like to say, “Yep, this makes perfect sense from a scientific perspective that there would not be gluten in here,” I think that there is, of course, some anecdotal evidence from people that that may not be the case. Now alcohol, of course, in general is, really it’s a toxic substance. So people are going to have quite of varied response to it, in general. So whether or not it’s truly just gluten is kind of up for debate. But obviously some people are having some issues with this who have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. So I think that’s something to at least take note of.
And you can also look at the fact that the FDA and the Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, they kind of have different ideas on how these things should be labeled. So the FDA, for example, says that things like distilled vinegar that are made from gluten containing grains, that can be labeled as gluten-free. While the TTB says that alcohols and things like that that have been made from gluten-containing grains can be labeled as “processed to remove gluten” with a clarifying statement saying something along the lines of, “This was distilled from grains containing gluten, which removes some or all of the gluten.” So basically they’re kind of saying, “We don’t really know how much is in here, if any.” So take that as you will.
So obviously, there’s some conflicting information here, and so to play it safe, I think it probably makes sense for those with severe gluten issues like celiac and even gluten sensitivity to avoid alcohols made from gluten-containing grains. But I would just explain this concept to your clients so that they understand where you’re coming from, the fact that you know there’s kind of conflicting information, or just sort of inconsistencies with the information that we have, and that this is your best recommendation. Especially as they’re trying to heal from digestive issues and everything like that. And you could potentially have them try out some of these alcohols in the future to see how they respond to them once their gut is in a better place. But certainly during the healing process, I would prefer to play it safe and I would just say, “Choose spirits that are made from non-gluten containing grains.”