Fake whiskey, alas, can be found in almost any store. Even a high price does not always guarantee the quality of the drink. There are a few tricks that can help you distinguish a quality whiskey from a fake.
General criteria
To minimize the possibility of buying a fake, you only need to look for good real whiskey in large specialized stores that sell alcohol. If you have any doubts about the quality of the product, be sure to ask the seller for a certificate of quality. According to the existing rules, shops are obliged to provide the relevant documents at the first request of buyers.
In addition to shops specializing in the sale of alcoholic beverages, a purchase can be made in a large supermarket. It's good if you regularly buy products there and their quality suits you, most likely the quality of alcohol will also be at the same level.
Always pay attention to the price. If a well-known brand of whiskey costs several times cheaper than you are used to, most likely you are in front of a fake. Large stores and manufacturers sometimes hold all kinds of promotions, reducing the price of their products, but usually the cost is reduced by a couple of tens of percent and no more.
Appearance and taste
The appearance of the bottle can tell a lot about its contents. Counterfeit manufacturers usually rely on inexperienced buyers, so they save on packaging. If you already know what kind of whiskey you want to buy, study the appearance of the bottle and label on the manufacturer's website, this will allow you to immediately distinguish a gross counterfeit in the store. A high-quality whiskey bottle is made of good glass, usually it has characteristic volumetric decorative elements. The label should be well and evenly applied. The excise stamp must always be present on the bottle. Its absence may indicate that the drink was imported illegally or is a fake.
Examine the color of the drink. A good whiskey is always transparent, which indicates the purity of the water and compliance with the production technology. The color of the whiskey can range from light yellow to deep brown, but it should not be cloudy or contain sediment.
There is a fairly simple way to tell the difference between a quality whiskey. Shake the bottle well and look at the resulting air bubbles. They must be very large and last long. In a good whiskey, drops drip down the surface of the glass for a very long time, in a fake one it happens very quickly.
A good whiskey has a pronounced taste and a soft, long-lasting aftertaste, the aftertaste or smell of alcohol should not be felt at all. Normally, whiskey has a malt or oaky soft and pleasant aroma.
Remember that low-quality drinks can cause alcohol poisoning, so choose a really good drink carefully.
