Labels from a small, family run kosher distillery in the basement of the Spitalfields Great Synagogue.These bottle labels are printed in both Hebrew and English and were used for labelling wines and spirits bottled by the kosher distillery, M. Chaikin & Co. Limited, located in the basement of the Spitalfields Great Synagogue, Brick Lane, E1. The family firm produced kosher wine and spirits both in the UK and Palestine. They also ran an off-licence in Brick Lane, and supplied London's East End Jewish community with kosher wines and spirits for nearly 80 years. The workshop and distillery closed in 1976.
Much of the wine produced in the workshop was made by crushing dried fruit such as raisins and sultanas - rather than grapes - and then fermenting in large jars. One advantage of using raisins and sultanas was that these were available even when grapes were in short supply, for example, during the Second World War when the firm continued to run a successful off-licence.
Share this link: