Counterfeit whisky sellers put lives at risk

● Crime gangs around the world are tapping into the rare whisky market

Organised criminals selling counterfeit whisky to wealthy collectors are putting lives at risk, investigators have said.

An estimated £41 million worth of rare whiskies circulating in the secondary market or in existing collections are fake, according to experts.

Crime gang sin countries as far afield as Russia, Zambia and Bulgaria have sought to tap into the market for rare whiskies, which can be sold for as much as £600,000 for a bottle predating 1900.

But the consequences of counterfeit alcohol can be potentially fatal, investigators have warned.

In 2015, 11 people died and dozens more were hospitalised in Siberia after a batch of fake Jack Daniels was found to contain methanol – an alcoholic solvent typically used in anti-freeze. And in September last year, around 30 people were killed in Malaysia from drinking the same substance masquerading as whisky.

Euro poland Interpol are both on the lookout for dodgy batches of alcohol often identifiable by the misuse of the term‘ Scotch Whisky’ and fake references to the country of origin, usually the UK or Scotland.

Andy Simpson, co-founder of whisky analysis company Rarewhisky101, uses carbon dating to determine whether the substance is legitimate.

He said: “Now there are so many new collectors and investors coming into the market with very little experience, they have never tried the genuine bottle, so they don’t know what a real one of these tastes like.

“What we don’t want to see happen is them ass production, when ethanol starts becoming methanol, and you get horrific incidents like Siberia.

“The service we offer is free if people ask us what we think of the bottle. It gives us good insight and intelligence and gives a good sense of where pools of fakes are.

“Last week, we were asked to look at about ten bottles, worth around £35,000, which were fake.

“Relatively frequently we get an email from an address that will be something like ‘abc123@gmail.com’ and an image sent through asking what we think of their bottle.

“If we tell them it’s fake, they will ask for all the reasons why.

“We never tell them, of course. We will give one or two reasons, but we suspect they approach us to try and better their fraudulent operations.”

Questions were first raised about pre-1900 whiskies after Chinese millionaire Z hang Wei spent £7,600 on a dram of 1878 Macallan single malt – the world’s most expensive whisky – while staying at a Swiss hotel in 2017.

Mr Simpson and his business partner David Robertson later tested the alcohol, which turned out to be a blended whisky dating from around 1970. The pair said bottles in that age range should be considered fake until proven genuine. They have been carbon dating ancient bottles for two years and finding all those tested to be counterfeit.

Mr Simpson said: “What we think we are seeing is an ongoing programme of fakes and forgeries.”