Rare Macallan
1878 exposed as a fake, would you
recognise it as being a fake whisky,
click on the image to see what you
think.
 A
rare bottle of The Macallan 1878, one of the
world’s only known bottles of the whisky
still in circulation has been officially
exposed as a fake following an
investigation by Rare Whisky 101 working
in partnership with Sandro Bernasconi,
Waldhaus Am See Hotel Manager and Bar
Manager at Devils Place.
The Waldhaus Hotel Am See in St Moritz
hit the headlines earlier this summer
after a Chinese customer paid 9,999
Swiss Francs (£7,700) for a glass of the
rare Scotch whisky, thought to be the
most ever paid for a poured dram of
liquid gold. Were the bottle genuine, it
would have carried a bar-value of around
300,000 Swiss Francs (£230,000).
Following a series of investigative and
forensic tests carried out by RW101, the
whisky has been shown to date back no
further than 1970, deeming it almost
worthless as a collector’s item. Sandro
Bernasconi from the Hotel has flown to
Asia in the last week to refund the
paying customer in full.
One of the world’s leading authorities
on rare whisky, RW101 was called in by
the hotel owner following publicity
surrounding the sale of the dram. The
eye-watering price paid for a drop of
this seemingly rare vintage caused a
stir among a number of experts within
the whisky industry who have questioned
its authenticity and asked for clarity
on what exactly the bottle contains.
A sample of the Macallan 1878 was
subsequently collected by the team at
RW101, and flown back to the UK for a
series of forensic tests and analysis to
determine, as best as modern science
allows, the precise composition of the
liquid. Firstly, and most critically,
the liquid was subjected to carbon
dating at the University of Oxford to
verify the year of distillation.
The conclusion from Rare Whisky 101’s
investigation is that the whisky is a
modern fake. Results from University of
Oxford’s Research Laboratory for
Archaeology and The History of Art
suggested a 95% probability that the
liquid was created between 1970 and
1972. Subsequent laboratory tests
carried out by Tatlock and Thomson
(providers of scientific services to the
wine and spirits industry) showed the
spirit was most likely a blended Scotch
comprised of 60% Malt and 40% Grain.
Ken Grier from The Macallan brand owner,
Edrington, commented: “As the leading
brand in the fast growing secondary
market for rare whiskies, with an
estimated 30% share by value, we take
this very seriously. We praise the work
that our partners, RW101, are doing to
bring awareness of any fraud to light.
We would urge consumers to buy from
reputable sources at all times.”
We always advise purchasing your whisky
from reputable specialist online whisky shops such
as
Master of
Malt
and
The Whisky Exchange
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