Fake Laphroaig and Macallan Whisky Exposed

[William]

Recent findings by the folks behind Rare 101 whisky will probably not come as much of a surprise to many of you but it is a good reminder to all to beware when buying previously owned bottles.

Rare 101 Whisky recently exposed a fake bottle of Laphroaig 1903, potentially worth £100,000, and two fake part sets of Macallan Fine and Rare, one worth around £500,000 and the other worth around £250,000.

More on the fake whisky problem here:

http://www.scotchmaltwhisky.co.uk/fakewhiskyproblem.htm
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There's no bad whisky. Just good whisky and better whisky.

[Forbes]

I am sure most high end fake whisky goes unnoticed as it is never opened.

[maz]

I just watched a film on Netflix the other day about high end fake wine, it's called Sour Grapes if you fancy it. Guys auctioning off fake bottles of wine for hundreds of thousands of dollars etc, ran the whole operation from his kitchen, mixing various wines to create the flavors, printing off old copies of labels, wax capping the bottle etc. I think he moved over 100 million dollars worth of stuff in the end, it was quite fascinating.

I don't doubt for a second this stuff goes on the whisky world but typically at a price range beyond me at least.

Even if it was opened, do you think the drinker could tell the difference between that and an Aldi special if it came to it?

[sorren]

Not surprised in the least.. but everyone should remember this is not just high end bottles!! Be watchful with any bottle on the secondary market especially if you don't know the source..

[Kava]

I wouldn't be surprised if the fake whisky problem is just as bad at the £100+ end of the secondary market. Personally I always search for images for the bottles I want to bid for to compare labels and seals. Of course this isn't always possible for older rarer bottling's.

[Kava]

[TheWM]

Where there is money to be made you will get counterfeiting and there is no real way round it. I know a 'reputable' watch dealer who was prepared to buy a fake Cartier off a mate of mineuntil It was pointed out that it was fake, a real good one but still you'd have thought a professional would have spotted it.

Even pros will make mistakes as we are all human. Back in the day fake Levis were being sold in high end shops who had bought them on the grey market. As a consumer you believe that going into a reputable store will ensure that you're getting the real McCoy. Not always, unfortunately. There is more Johnnie Walker being sold in India per year than Johnnie Walker actually push out annually.

[5-12-1908]

Better start checking the labels in tesco.......i dont want to be done.

[unblended]

the macallan seems to be the most faked off all whiskies
plenty of empty bottles being sold that will come back onto the open market
these fakes have been around for at least fifteen years just not so many as now especially as the prices are pretty high
this also includes mini bottles the worst being a 75c/l label on a mini they forgot to take off the seven
as they say buyer beware



richard

[Gregor]

This is why when spending over £100k on a single bottle, I buy new and not from the secondary market

Seriously though if you were spending this amount you would insist on some type of guarantee of authenticity from the auction or a refund if proven to be fake, they get a lot of money from sales and get away with putting the onus on the buyer to ensure all is good, why is that acceptable.

[Acksboy]

Can anyone say to what (if any) degree whisky auction houses try to ensure authenticity? Even allowing for the buyer to see detailed images of the bottle it's always going to be nigh impossible to guarantee if you're buying the real deal or a re-stopped bottle of apple juice. In retrospect I've always been relying on the auction house to carry out some sort of inspection before I've bought anything. The optimist in me says they must... surely?!

[Quaich1]

I can see where this could be a real problem. I've never actually bought anything on the secondary market myself but I have heard some horror stories from friends who did outside of Canada where auctions, etc. are very prevalent. There are even fines in North America for bars refilling empty or partially empty bottles of whisky from other bottles of the same variety. I imagine this is proably the case elsewhere too.
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"Always carry a large flagon of whisky in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)

[CGRenn]

[unblended]

i see the article made the sunday papers that being the news of the world

didn't the malt maniacs doing some thing on theses fakes


richard

[TheWM]

I've thought about this some more. This type of thing is exactly what the SWA needs to divert their resources into dealing with rather than the token effort they currently manage.