Whisky Bottle Fraud?

[@WhiskyMystery]

Incase it was not clear this is a legit bottle. I am just experimenting by trying to refit the seal to see if it is doable and what it looks like after the tampering.

[@welshtoro3256]

I had a couple of bottles of Springbank Green when they came out and I remember those seals. In fact I have quite a few Springbanks over the years where it looks like somebody stick a cheap seal on top by hand. I was back in Cardiff over Christmas and popped into a bar. Low and behold, they had a bottle of Yamazaki 12. £6 for one or £8 for a double. I went for the double. It didn't look like Yamazaki 12, it didn't smell like Yamazaki 12 and it certainly didn't taste like it. It was decent whisky though. I'm fairly certain they were swindling people but most folk just wont know. They were doing the same prices for a very suspicious JW Blue. Happy New Year.

[@WhiskyMystery]

Springbank does do everything by hand. That bar sounds a bit scary

[@precariousdave]

Long observed this phenomena, and it is a continuing issue. SB is not alone. Ancnoc, Douglas Laing, Old Perth, Glenfarclas to name but a few. Ralfy made a big point about it when he brought out his Meteorite Bruichladdich with a customised holographic seal, and it is definitely something to be aware. "Buyer beware, buyer take care."

[@WhiskyMystery]

Yeah need to be careful

[@chrisgwhisky]

Phil, this is frightening. I have the 12- and 13-year old Green bottles and they both came with a green sticker over the capsule. I wonder if this is why? I’m hoping their standard black capsules are more tamper-evident because OMG that is a scary thought.

[@WhiskyMystery]

Yeah just me playing around here. Try it yourself sometime.

[@chrisgwhisky]

Do you remember, was it noticeably loose to the touch after you re-formed the capsule? I am like you all: I buy quite a few of my bottles from auction. Anyway, looking forward to new content!

[@WhiskyMystery]

@@chrisgwhisky Not really. If I was being careful it would have seemed legit.

[@BobbyJ_19x]

Dang Phil, giving me something to think about as I look at new bottles. 😁

[@WhiskyMystery]

always worth a close look

[@MayhemInMayberry]

Thanks Phil, I will be more wrinkle vigilant moving forward. Off to Japan then Taiwan next week. Should be interesting prices and offerings at the Duty Free. My goal is to buy a couple dusty Kavalan Solist Amontillado and Fino bottles sitting in local grocery stores at $100 each and check them home. Of course a Costco trip will be in order. Wish me luck.

[@WhiskyMystery]

Oh great. Check out our store tours from both countries.

[@AlinJapan]

Rumor has it that Yamazaki 18 is available at Duty Free for 50,000 yen.

[@MayhemInMayberry]

@@WhiskyMystery I very much enjoyed them. Especially the 2nd hand shop in Japan, so many museum pieces for sale.

[@WhiskyMystery]

Nice

[@charlescash8023]

Silly but I have done this with a few of my home bottles when I am eager to have a smell of them or taste maybe a teaspoon worth, but that I probably won't drink for a little while. I put the seals back and consider them still "closed." My cheat, but like in your video, they look a little sloppy. I don't ever sell whisky I have bought so doesn't matter much to me, sealed vs open is just a mental partition.

[@WhiskyMystery]

That is funny

[@samueld1]

I've always wondered if the foil wraps could have this happen since I've been able to slip the wraps off without ripping them numerous times. It's definitely possible to scam people this way, and I've heard of it happening before.

[@WhiskyMystery]

Yeah we should not expect the foil wrap means it is safe.

[@SaltyCuban]

I passed up on a low priced Flaming Heart years ago. The seal that went over the cork was broken. Priced at $80 was tempting but I passed .

[@WhiskyMystery]

Broken seems more honest but risky

[@anuj4073]

This sort of thing happens in India, a lot of times. A full inspection and due diligence is required every time you but liquor here. I had a Cotswolds once with a similar case to this video.

[@WhiskyMystery]

Ah interesting. Even with water bottles in India 🙂

[@TimHoekstra]

My first response would be covid supply issues having to go for a less optimal bottle seal, but ofcourse those could be taken advantage of. Will pay beter attention in the future.

[@WhiskyMystery]

Cheers

[@hicksy771]

Phil you have too much time and too many Springbank bottles lying around 😂🤣

[@WhiskyMystery]

Perfectly summarised

[@fchow8652]

Springbank... omg

[@willemkilian9563]

I wonder if the SWA should lobby for bottleneck stickers that get broken when the cork is removed to be a requirement for Scotch. Not saying it will 100% solve the problem, but it would be a positive step towards protecting the integrity of Scoth Whisky.

[@WhiskyMystery]

For the future maybe. Right now the old expensive bottles are the ones most likely to be 'messed with'

[@jujtan5412]

Springbank will hv to start looking into security seals and labels like Macallan on their btls. Now that more are changing hands for profit rather than for drinking.

[@WhiskyMystery]

This one did have a paper strap

[@benmarnoch4111]

All you need is a commercial capsuling machine and the correct capsule, in this case J&A Mitchell have made it potentially even easier, by using a plain white Capsule over the closure.

[@WhiskyMystery]

Well that is another step up

[@justwhisky]

I have that bottle Phil but mine has a long thin green label that runs over the white foil and glued to sides of bottle that reads “ one of 9000 bottles…Sherry cask matured.

[@WhiskyMystery]

Yes mine did also. I took it off before making the video.

[@rnatodna]

I have this bottle in it's original packaging box! I've had it for a while now

[@WhiskyMystery]

Why is it not open?

[@squinugie2091]

I would never buy the whisky exchange perfect measures from auction (obviously happy to buy direct) as it is so easy to take the lid off with the seal intact and replace it with no wrinkles!

[@WhiskyMystery]

Ah good to know

[@stefanlehnert2902]

Did you get my mail? Also you have to get your hands on the SB 12 Green Bourbon 🙂

[@WhiskyMystery]

Yes replied to the mail

[@stefanlehnert2902]

@@WhiskyMystery Oh okay thanks a lot, I hope my mail helped a bit😊🥃 I did not get your reply, like last time. Strange…

[@WhiskyMystery]

Your mail must be filtering

[@stefanlehnert2902]

@@WhiskyMystery I do not know, in the spam mails I could not find a mail from you. But I am happy that you got my mails😊

[@WhiskyMystery]

@@stefanlehnert2902 something strange happening.

[@Du57yx91630n5]

lol, I really hope this doesnt become the Springbank version of the Kia jailbreak instructional! just kidding of course but I have a bad feeling there will be a real surge of counterfeit contents in bottles in the very near future with the rising popularity of these brands.

[@WhiskyMystery]

Springbank just happened to be the bottle I was opening the supplies to almost all bottles

[@prestonw3878]

I was at my Total Wine yesterday and suddenly they have 10 bottle of Ardbeg Fermutation on the regular shelf priced at $199 I couldn't believe it and I'm wondering if it's fraudulent lmao! Probably not fraudulent but still doesn't make sense. Cheers!

[@WhiskyMystery]

None of the Ardbeg special release prices make sense. All too expensive :-)

[@mhdkam2288]

We love whiskey

[@stingrae789]

I'll admit I would probably be fooled by this. I've had bottles with damaged foiling so crinkled foil would just mean poorly applied to me.

[@WhiskyMystery]

Same for me. I will try and do another one cleaner and see what is possible.

[@whiskeywithe7907]

If U got it like that did U taste it to see if it's a fake ?

[@WhiskyMystery]

The wrinkles are after I messed with it. It is not fake. Just experimenting. Tastes great.

[@hicksy771]

How long have you had it for Phil?

[@WhiskyMystery]

Bought it from a shop new 2 years ago maybe. I was just playing with the idea.

[@hicksy771]

@@WhiskyMystery I think you'd be pretty safe. Probably not worth the hassle 2 years ago. Nowadays with inflated prices might be a different story 😂

[@WhiskyMystery]

@@hicksy771 No this video is me pretending to cheat. The start of the video is the end after I put it back on :-)

[@hicksy771]

@@WhiskyMystery oh my bad 😂

[@Tantrum777]

If we are talking about 100$ plus bottles I think it is time for a security seal.

[@WhiskyMystery]

Could be

[@Boxer1250RT]

Only buy from reputable retailers.

[@WhiskyMystery]

See pinned message. This was a demo

[@michaelwood3203]

I can see it is an older bottling as evidenced by the wrinkles!

[@WhiskyMystery]

No wrinkles before I messed with it

[@martincaravati9417]

😂

[@martincaravati9417]

Yep, seems plausible that someone could do that, and even better than your demo if practiced. 😮

[@WhiskyMystery]

Oh if I spent 10 mins I could do way better

[@YurySimplyaboutwhisky]

Hi, Phil. Unfortunately if you're doing this carefully you can reseal it. Similar situation happen with all Tomatin bottles 😞 😓 😩. In my opinion producers should have pay attention to it.

[@WhiskyMystery]

Tomatin does not sound like an obvious target for this.

[@isaiasdocable]

😲