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The Just
Whisky valuation roadshow is heading to
Glasgow, Aberlour and Islay this month
where they will also be advising you how
to spot a fake whisky at the free to
attend events.
Rising prices mean investing in
whisky is an increasingly popular
investment option but the downside is
that the secondary whisky market is now
attracting the unwelcome attention of
counterfeiters and there are some very
good fakes out their but with a little
education and knowledge you can spot
these fakes.
Whether you are buying from the
secondary market as an investment or
perhaps to get hold of a bottle to drink
which has been discounted or was a
limited release and is no longer
available from whisky retailers, with
the potential for fake whisky on the
rise you need to be sure that you are
buying the genuine article. With that in
mind online auctioneers Just Whisky will
be travelling to venues across Scotland
in November holding a series of free
valuation sessions and advising
customers on what’s fake and what’s not.
To coincide with the valuation roadshow,
Just Whisky is launching a simple guide
to help buyers invest safely and know
the tell-tale signs of a fake. It aims
to arm investors with the basic
information needed to avoid forgeries
and make intelligent investment
decisions. Crucially, the guide defines
what a fake actually is. That can range
from a basic label swap (taking a label
from a more expensive bottle and
transferring it to a cheaper bottle) to
refilling an empty bottle with a cheaper
whisky, to counterfeiters simply
creating their own labels.
The guide also offers tips on what else
to look for to avoid purchasing a fake
in error. For example, bottle codes can
also be a very useful tool. Sometimes,
on more modern bottles, the glass is
imprinted with a unique code. Usually
it’s a code printed directly to the
glass, which the distillery will do as
part of the bottling process, including
information about where it was bottled,
what time and even what the whisky is
inside. Sometimes, the difference
between a £500 bottle and £3000 one will
be a vintage identifier shoulder label.
It may well say ‘1937’ or similar. Check
that the label hasn’t been replaced as
that’s one of the most common attempts
at counterfeit.
But Just Whisky offers reassurance that
there’s no need to be Sherlock Holmes
when it comes to identifying the real
thing. Graham Crane, Co-founder of Just
Whisky, explained:
"Paying attention to something as simple
as the colour of the whisky is a simple
but effective way of identifying that
all is not well. Buyers should ask is
the colour what they would expect – How
does it compare with other sold
examples?
"Where a bottle is being sourced is also
an indication of whether it may be fake.
Is it from a reputable supplier, does it
have a box and certificate as it should?
If in doubt, always buy from a reputable
source, then the buyer has some form of
comeback. Auction houses will deal with
any discrepancies swiftly as it is not
in their interest to sell fakes or to
damage their reputations.
"Investing in an appreciating asset like
whisky is both enjoyable but carries an
element of risk when bought privately –
for buyers parting with substantial
cash, it is essential that it is the
genuine article. Our roadshow and guide
are designed to take some of the
guesswork out of making what might be a
very costly mistake."
I asked Just Whisky what guarantee they
offers buyers of whisky from your
auction if in the unlikely event a
bottle is later discovered to be fake,
they told me "we guarantee items sold
through our site are genuine and will
issue a full refund if that’s found not
to be the case".
The Just Whisky Valuation Roadshow is a
FREE event and will be taking place in
the following locations:
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