diff --git a/lib/error.js b/lib/error.js
index 869cc2e1..c36d5e58 100644
--- a/lib/error.js
+++ b/lib/error.js
@@ -407,7 +407,7 @@ function LibrdKafkaError(e) {
       this.origin = 'kafka';
     }
     Error.captureStackTrace(this, this.constructor);
-  } else if (!util.isError(e)) {
+  } else if (!(e instanceof Error || Object.prototype.toString.call(e) === '[object Error]')) {
     // This is the better way
     this.message = e.message;
     this.code = e.code;