Fake booze – proving whisky is genuine

● Scientists develop test to verify origin of a dram – without opening the bottle

If you’ve shelled out £1.5 million for a rare bottle of vintage whisky, you would want to be sure the amber liquid inside is what it says on the label.

Well there’s good news for aficionados of uisge beatha – and gin and vodka too.

Scientists at the University of St Andrews have developed an innovative technique that can prove the authenticity of some of the world’s most exclusive tipples.

It’s all done with light. And best of all, the tests can be carried out without even removing the cork.

Researchers at the universit y’s S cho ol of Physics and

Astronomy have developed a method that uses lasers to see inside a bottle and analyse its contents.

St Andrews scientists had previously shown that laser spectroscopy could be used to prove the origins of whisky.

The process can reveal the chemical make -up of a sub - stance by the way it breaks up light into its various colours, and has been used to identify materials ranging from particular bacteria to fo o d and drink, through to the paint on sculptures and even explosive powders.

However, the new approach for the first time makes it possible to carry out this analysis without opening the bottle to remove a sample.

Iconic bottles of whisky have been known to sell for more than £1m, with a 1926 Speyside mal t b e c o min g t h e wor l d ’s most expensive ever when it fetched £1.5m at auction last year.

The Macallan Fine & R are 60 Year Old 1926 bottle was offered for sale by a private American collector and had b e e n e s t i m a t e d t o g o f o r £350,000 to £450,000 – less than a third of the final selling price, which set a new record.

It stole the title from a stab l e ma t e , t h e o n l y b o t t l e o f the 1926 Macallan featuring a hand-painted design by Irish ar tist Michael Dillon, which went under the hammer at Christie’s in London and sold for £1.2m.

But there has been a rise in the quantity of fake whiskies flooding the market.

C o u n t e r f e i t d r i n k s c o s t the UK economy more than £200m in lost revenue each year.

S o e s t a b l i s h i n g t h e p r ov - enance of branded products h a s b e c o m e important.

Research team leader Pro - fessor Kishan Dholakia said:

i n c r e a s i n g l y

“Personally, I hate it when I have to spare a drop of whisky for validation checks.

“I’d much rather drink the whole bottle.

“L a s e r s p e c t r o s c o p y i s a powerful tool for characterising the chemical make-up of many materials, but to use it to characterise alcohol in its original container in this simple way is really exciting.”

The novel approach needs no complex optical set-ups and so could be easily manufactured for widespread use.

“I hate it when I have to spare a drop of whisky for validation checks” KISHAN DHOLAKIA Research team leader