Whisky Forum - Empty whisky bottles, beware!

whisky_rob · Posted: Mon Mar 03, 2014 8:25 pm Post subject: Empty whisky bottles, beware!

All,

I'm sure some are aware but ebay and other places seem to be awash with empty whisky bottles. Some people seem willing to pay Â£100+ for an empty bottle of Black Bowmore for example and there is a Macallan 25 currently at Â£30 on ebay.

I realise that some collect empty whisky bottles but I really have concerns that some of these rarer bottles with obvious gains to be made from forgery and a quick re-fill and re-sell knowing that most of these bottles are never likely to be opened in the short term and thus they will never get caught.

I'm sure like most here I'm an honest hard working sort, but please beware of buying older bottlings as I would hate anyone on here to get burnt by this crime. I hear than the seal around the neck is the main give away but does anyone else have any decent tips for spotting a dodgy bottle?

Regards

Rob

Kenny M · Master Of Malts Joined: 21 Apr 2007 Posts: 860

Good advise Rob.

I personally couldn't imagine collecting empty bottles but i suppose some do but i recently found out that not every auction on ebay these days is as it seems, some sellers list full bottles as being empty to bypass ebays no alcohol selling rules. I realised this a couple of months ago when i saw a empty bottle of the 40 year old whisky which Aldi sold listed for Â£75 and a advisory note to contact the seller for details so out of curiosity i contacted the seller and they responded saying the bottle was full and unopened but because of ebays rules they could only list it as empty. I gave it a miss but it made me think about what other empty bottles are listed and are actually full but listed as empty to bypass ebays rules.

albo · Master Of Malts Joined: 22 Mar 2011 Posts: 1888

That problem with eBay would be even worse. If people are selling empty bottles but they are rashly full when you contact the seller they give you this info. There is nothing to stop them selling you an empty bottle anyway. You'd have no recourse for complaint. I'd caution everyone against that.

matt222 · Single Malt Member Joined: 09 Jan 2014 Posts: 23

Has anyone come across any fakes? - I did!

I purchased a bottle of 10 year Glenmorangie from a local off-license.

The packaging and bottle complete with foil wrap around the cork was immaculate. It wasn't until I opened the bottle, smelt and tasted it that I realised it was just any old poison.

I just poured it down the sink - too annoyed to dare take it back to the shop - I would have loved to have smashed the empty bottle over the shopkeeper's head but I contemplated the inconvenience of being incarcarated in prison as a result and decided not to take that route!

A couple of weeks later, I returned to the store and told the shopkeeper his Glenmorangie was fake - he gave me a free bottle of ( genuine ) Bells.

Really should have been suspicious of the fact that they were being sold at Â£24. That's about Â£12 less than everywhere else!

DaneBrooke · Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 8:22 pm Post subject:

Rob - I'm sure the seals are impossible to fake.

Kenny - ebay insists on a photo of the empty bottle with seal broken.

Matt - if that bottle sat around the shop long enough, it might still have been genuine. We all know that spirits don't "age" after bottling, but they can change (mostly from UV exposure and if there is acid present when bottled.)

I have a friend that doesn't drink, but entertains a lot, and people frequently bring liquor as a gift to the host. He has enough booze to open a shop! One day he asked me to help him go through some of it that was very old and we opened an old bottle of Kentucky bourbon that I am familiar with. It smelled rank and a tiny sip proved it tasted foul. It had undergone additional chemical change while in glass!
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Dane Brooke

whisky_rob · Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 8:40 pm Post subject:

Innes · Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 9:01 pm Post subject:

matt222 · Single Malt Member Joined: 09 Jan 2014 Posts: 23

Matt - if that bottle sat around the shop long enough, it might still have been genuine. We all know that spirits don't "age" after bottling, but they can change (mostly from UV exposure and if there is acid present when bottled.)

Yep, I considered that but it seems everytime he sells one he has another up on the shelf immediately. Doesn't suggest a one-off that he's struggling to sell thus sitting on the shelf for ages?

DaneBrooke · Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 9:37 pm Post subject:

Rob - well, I am sure you are right that fakes exist. I've just examined all mine (I don't have an Ardbeg), and they all have pretty distinctive features on the seals (double perforation, opening assistve tabs, lettering or images on side or top.) To make a convincing forgery yould practically have to get the foils off intact, but I am sure some folks are doing it.

Matt, it sure sounds sketchy, I agree. I was simply raising the possibility.
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Dane Brooke