Counterfeit Scotch

[ackvil]

We have all heard of counterfeit razor blades. I always thought there could not be much money in that.

However, I discovered where the big money is: counterfeiting Scotch. The latest issue of Whiskey Advocate contains an interesting story about it.

With the price of some vintage Scotches and bourbons reaching astronomic proportions, counterfeiters are using all kinds of tricks to "make" Scotch appear old and rare. They have taken to buying old bottles, printing labels themselves, and sealing the bottles. Often the bottles contain tea that has been colored to look like it was old.

A woman from Whisky Auction in the UK has been busy exposing the racket.

To give you an idea of what some of the bottles go for:

• A single bottle of Glenfiddich 1955 Janet Sheed Roberts 55 year old went for $94,000.
• A decanter of Bowmore 1964 48 year old went for $98,610.
• Karuizawa 1960 52 year old "The Wanderer" brought $141,551.

The individual from the auction house said part of the problem was that collectors and investors do not open the bottle to taste it. So, they have no idea whether the bottle is filled with the actual Scotch they bought, a cheap blend that has been colored, or plain tea that has been colored.

In case you are interested, the real Scotch is the one on the right of the cover.

 

[Hoka Hey]

The wine biz has been full of this for sometime. A pretty entertaining and informative read is: "The Billionaire's Vinegar".

 

[G.W.]

"The individual from the auction house said part of the problem was that collectors and investors do not open the bottle to taste it. "

I read an article a few years back that was basically the same premise as this, but discussing wine. They said the same thing as what I copied above. Nobody opens the "rare" old stuff, so the criminals use any old thing that matches color, and the odds they get caught are rare. And the reward for their minimal effort/expense is quite high in some cases.

 

[martym]

Get a rope!!!

 

[cleanshaved]

Cup of tea anyone.

 

[Doc4]

Fifty seconds in ...

 

[langod]

Maybe I'm just unsympathetic, but if you're buying scotch to "collect" it and not drink it then,
A) it kinda serves you right
and
B) what difference does it make since you're really just buying it for the bottle and label?

It's like people who buy collectible cars and never drive them... What's the point?

 

[StillShaving]

Interesting, I am not surprised to learn that these expensive bottles are counterfeited, since it would be relatively easy to pull off if one could get them into some distribution channel. I believe that even relatively affordable whiskeys such as Johnnie Walker Red Label have pouring mechanisms that are designed to prevent the bottles from being refilled and resold with something else.

 

[dpm802]

If I could afford to spend $90,000+ for a bottle of counterfeit whiskey,
I could also afford a hot-shot lawyer to kick the butt of whoever sold it to me.

 

[Stainless Razor]

If I could afford to spend $90,000+ for a bottle of counterfeit whiskey,
I could also afford a hot-shot lawyer to kick the butt of whoever sold it to me.

Good luck with that. I would make a new account with fake info everytime I sold a $50,000 bottle of fake whisky, so it's not like you have a company to sue, I am sure the online bidding site has a terms of a agreement that they hold zero responsibility to the quality or authenticity of anything sold there. So you are left with a likely multinational police issue with much more important crimes to deal with.

 

[August West]

I don't think this happens at my packie. That being said, a hundred beans is the most expensive stuff sold there.

 

[Doc4]

I don't think this happens at my packie. That being said, a hundred beans is the most expensive stuff sold there.

Everybody tries to forge the Mona Lisa ... nobody tries Dogs Playing Poker.

Mind you ... most of the stuff we drink, the forgery would probably be an improvement.

 

[August West]

 

[BlackBard]

Everybody tries to forge the Mona Lisa ... nobody tries Dogs Playing Poker.

Mind you ... most of the stuff we drink, the forgery would probably be an improvement.

+1. I am not worried about counterfit Evan Williams Bourbon, either.

 

[Power Captain]

Maybe I'm just unsympathetic, but if you're buying scotch to "collect" it and not drink it then,
A) it kinda serves you right
and
B) what difference does it make since you're really just buying it for the bottle and label?

It's like people who buy collectible cars and never drive them... What's the point?

The bottle and label are fake too.

Sent from my SM-A715F using Tapatalk

 

[Chandu]

IF you can't taste the difference, a victimless crime.