<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I received ten or twelve replies to my post. The following are excerpts: 'Yeh for you Jessie, keep talking this list needs to hear from you.' ________ 'Obviously this provides no answers, just my perception of the difference. I still try to just stick to the American view (even though I am proudly Canadian) because if there is a dispute, I like to err on the side of caution.' __________ 'I don't know what is allowed in the Americas but it is strictly illegal for any European fortified wine to be fortified with grain alcohol - only grape alcohol is allowed (ie brandy). Incidentally there is no doubt either of the GF status of REAL scotch whisky. Any SCOTCH whisky is double distilled and may not have any wort added ie it is GF. ALL flavour comes from the barrels, most of which are sherry barrels. You can check this yourself by searching the web for their sites. You will understand that, with wine lakes brimming in Europe, there is no advantage to using anything other than brandy to fortify with and no one is bothered by these rules.' ________________ 'The book I have from the Canadian Celiac Association lists distilled alcohol as being safe. Since Joan Tuckey is from my local chapter I will continue to follow the diet I have been following. I for one have no problems with distilled alcohol, distilled vinegar or even vanilla extracts (with alcohol). Some celiacs may just be reacting to something else and not gluten and have deemed distilled whatever unsafe.' ___________________ The following letter is printed in its entirety because of the content. 'Thank you for your post! The CCA's position on alcoholic drinks lead my mother to continue drinking scotch whiskey even though she was dutifully following a gluten free diet. She has it underlined in her Celiac Association Handbook that scotch is okay. Because of drinking this her health disintegrated to the point where she had a 10 day nose bleed that ended in a coma. These are two of the most severe gluten intolerance symptoms! Thankfully, Mum recovered with huge doses of electrolyte solution. If she had been instructed otherwise, she would be a lot healthier than she is now and she wouldn't have had to put up with years and years of diminishing brain function and severe osteoporosis. The CCA also promotes canola, a very dangerous genetically engineered plant. Hmmmmm!? Thanks again!' ___________________ One US list member asked me to name a safe vodka. Sorry, I would not venture to do this. Thanks for the many replies. It is obvious that we do not all agree. One of the difficulties is that what appears to be a safe product in one country may not be so in another. It becomes increasingly clear that as celiacs we have to take the responsibility to do our own investigations and make our own decisions. I would stress that it is best to err on the side of caution. Thanks so much for the many detailed responses. Jessie in BC, Canada