Scientists call time on Scotch myths ...
Bottles of ‘rare’ aged whiskies exposed as much younger fakes by Scottish Universities Research Centre investigating a growing trade worth millions
SCOTS scientists are using the fallout from nuclear testing to blow a hole in the lucrative counterfeit whisky market. By measuring the miniscule residuals of radioactive isotopes in the amber liquid they found that more than 40% of the “rare” whiskies they tested were fake.
The news has sent shockwaves through the rare whisky market which has attracted an increasing number of rich investors in recent years. In 2018 alone, over 100,000 bottles sold at auction for a total value of £38m. The most expensive bottle, a 1926 Macallan Valerio Adami, cost £848,750.
Based on the findings of the scientists at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre (SUERC), whisky experts have calculated that around £41m worth of so-called rare whiskies are actually counterfeit.
As the prices increase, so does the number of fake whiskies in the secondary market where whiskies are bought at auction rather than directly from the distilleries.
However, until recently, although experts could tell the age of bottles and their labels, it was difficult to determine the age of the contents without a large sample.
Now advances in technology mean it is possible for scientists at SUERC in East Kilbride to take miniscule amounts of whisky from the bottle without having to open it.
Their Accelerator Mass Spectrometer is capable of measuring tiny quantities of radiocarbon (Carbon14) in fractions of millilitres of whisky which is extracted through the cork by way of a hypodermic needle.
They then calculate how much Carbon-14 is in the sample to determine the age of the whisky.
This is carbon’s only radioactive isotope and it is present in every bit of organic material, including human bodies. It comes from cosmic rays which reach Earth and then react with nitrogen in the atmosphere to produce Carbon-14. This is absorbed by plants, including those consumed by humans. Carbon14 takes many thousands of years to decay so it can be used to date archaeological finds – and now whisky. The scientists at East Kilbride have been further aided by the nuclear tests of the 1950s and 1960s which spewed more Carbon-14 into the atmosphere, producing a spike which can be seen in the barley used to make whisky. Decreasing levels since then have created a “bomb curve”. In many instances, it is possible to determine the age of whiskies to within a two to three year period.
Before they began testing, Professor Gordon Cook and his colleagues at the centre gathered a number of whiskies of known provenance and age and, as they knew for certain when each had been distilled, they were able to create a calibration curve to help them identify the age of the bottles they wanted to test.
By comparing the data from the whiskies they were testing to the data on the curve they were able to tell whether they were fake or genuine.
Professor Cook said that of all the bottles tested so far, not one had been a genuine 19th century single
“OF ALL THE BOTTLES TESTED, NOT ONE HAD BEEN A GENUINE 19TH CENTURY SINGLE MALT
malt. “The ones we have found to be genuine are those from the early to mid 20th century,” he said.
He said he was not aware of the value placed on the fake bottles but added: “Frankly they are worthless. Some are from the 1960s and faked up to be older but had they been in the original 1960s bottles they would have been worth a decent amount.
“Many fakes were produced about 50 years ago although we have seen examples of modern whisky in what looks like an old bottle.”
More than 100 bottles have been tested over the last three years and over 40% were fake.
One bottle which was supposed to be a Talisker single malt produced in 1863 was distilled around 2005.
“If it had been genuine, it would be worth tens of thousands of pounds,” said Professor Cook.
Others identified as fakes included one which was supposed to be an Ardbeg 1885 and one that was passed off as an early 20th century Thorne’s Heritage blend.
“This is only one way to try and counteract the counterfeiting that is going on,” Professor Cook pointed out.
“There are people in the distilleries and auction houses who are experts on the bottles – how they were made and their labels and so on – so we are just one strand in all of that.
“But we are the only ones that can take the contents of the bottle and say this is an estimate of its age.”