It is well-known that the Lubavitcher Rebbe, זכותו יגן עלינו, liked this drink and had it on his table for the tish. It is also well-known that it (once) had some Xtian cross emblazoned and supposedly someone mentioned that there might be a wine (סתם יינם) issue with the drink. I am told the drink suddenly disappeared from the Tish where the Lubavitcher Rebbe used to farbreng. The reason it disappeared was explained later by the Rebbe himself “due to those מרה שחורה’ניקעס (party poopers) who have cast aspersions on it”. I am not going to pretend that I understand why that bothered the Lubavitcher Rebbe, and I won’t second guess him.
Now, like Coca-Cola, the actual recipe of Bénédictine is a secret. The most reputable Kashrus Agencies in the world, however, advised consumers that it was not to be quaffed. In Melbourne, the Rabbi who is the Chief Posek for Kosher Australia is Mordechai Gutnick and he is a Lubavitcher. However, he pronounced that it was not recommended. I spoke to the head chemist of Kosher Australia, Kasriel Oliver, also a Lubavitcher, he told me in no uncertain terms that it was not to be consumed irrespective of what the Lubavitcher Rebbe had done in days gone by.
The Chicago Rabbinic Council do lots of investigating of spirits and liqueurs as does the London Beth Din. If Chicago pronounces that something is not recommended, other respectable agencies follow their finding. (I don’t include the private little (not to be trusted) Kashrus agencies where the person giving the hechsher is also paying himself a tidy wage). Proper authorities, like Kosher Australia, cRc, OU and a host of other respectable agencies still do not recommend Bénédictine.
On the right is what the 
cRc Kosher app said today on my iPhone.
Now, I read an essay from the cRc about Bénédictine here and apart from Rabbi Moshe Gutnick’s view (which was not based on visiting the premises) it seemed they were having it a “bit both ways”. Moshe is one of Mordechai’s younger brothers and oversees a large Kashrus organisation in Sydney for many years.
I am not a lover of liqueurs in particular, but I thought that something just wasn’t right. Were the Dominican Monks not allowing any agency in? That seems incorrect. If so, why hadn’t any of the European agencies gone in and investigated it properly. Why hadn’t the Lubavitchers investigated? Were they afraid it might be forbidden? I sent an email to the cRc and copied it to Rabbi Gutnick where I wrote
HiI read the article on thisand do not understand why R Msika doesn’t drink non B&B.Is this because of the cRc comments or is it because he only drinks Mehadrin with a Mashgiach at least Yotze VeNichnas, is it political, or a personal Chumra.Does the Beth Din of America accept it?In Melbourne it is not recommendedI have never had itI am not a LubavitcherMy Posek is Rav Schachter
All are bottled in the same bottling machine, but there is a full
cleaning cycle between each product bottled.
pitputim 
There are no Dominican monks involved. Nor even Benedictine monks. Benedictine the liqueur has always been manufactured by a private company, ever since it was invented 150 years ago. The name is just marketing puffery.
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What is the issue here. Surely not just the kashrus of a product. After all it’s not as if it is a staple or necessary food item. It certainly isn’t mainstream mashke like vodka or whisky.
Seems to me that there was an element of ‘batlonus’ (negligence or simple laziness). There is even the possibility that there was a worry that they would discover the ‘truth’ (as it turns out not so) that it was not acceptable, so ‘ostrich-like’ (which is a non-kosher bird) burying their head in the sand’.
Historically there have been periods when our choice of drink (the intoxicating kind) has rankled the rabbinate and the drive and desire has pushed individuals into behaviour unbecoming their station.
Today we have reputable kashrus agencies who can properly do due diligence to discover the true status of the food and drink at our discretion. It should be their lead in conjunction with our rabbinical leaders whom we should following. Tradition is one thing as is mesora, but as you pointed out when there has been an investigation and the results are conclusive that is what should be the determining factor.
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To be fair, I have had some correspondence with Rabbi Mordechai Gutnick and I’m following up with him and with Rav Lande’s office and will report. My opinion has not been swayed thus far
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Re monks. The following is from Wiki
It is claimed that at the Benedictine Abbey of Fécamp in Normandy, monks had developed a medicinal aromatic herbal beverage which was produced until the abbey’s devastation during the French Revolution, but in fact Alexandre Le Grand invented the recipe himself, helped by a local chemist, and he told this story to connect the liqueur with the city history to increase sales.[1]
He began production under the trade name “Bénédictine”, using a bottle with an easily recognizable shape and label. The family eventually sold the company to Martini and Rossi, which was in turn bought by Bacardi.
The recipe is a closely guarded trade secret, purportedly known to only three people at any given time. So many people have tried to reproduce it that the company maintains on its grounds in Fécamp a “Hall of Counterfeits” (Salle des Contrefaçons). The bottle and label have been imitated, as has the name Bénédictine. The company prosecutes those it feels are infringing on its intellectual property.
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Single cask also blended with brandy so it is NOT KOSHER (you can see at their website). Some people say that B&B is blended with CHOLOV NOCHRI. Only DOM is the kosher one.
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Did I imply anything else? Indeed one of these days when I return to the blog I will reveal some disturbing correspondence from the KLBD on this issue, which smells like they weren’t interested in discovering the reality
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