identify genuine liquor: How to identify genuine liquor

The holiday season is a time for gathering with friends and family. Lots of food, drink and fun arrangements are made to ensure the celebration never ends and the time spent together creates priceless memories. All of this planning and preparation should keep everyone’s safety in mind, especially when it comes to spoiled food and alcohol.

You may be surprised to learn that alcohol is one of the most commonly counterfeited commodities considering how much counterfeit alcohol is sold each year. For a few dollars more, dishonest people can cheat by putting counterfeit alcohol in used bottles or replica packaging, adulterating or diluting the actual alcohol.

Because they are made from hazardous ingredients, drinking counterfeit or contaminated alcohol can lead to major health problems or even death. Responsible and reputable spirits companies attach great importance to keeping their goods safe. However, those who manufacture this alcohol and counterfeit goods have no regard for the health or welfare of individuals.

A little caution and vigilance can prevent such unjustified situations. Here are some quick tricks to make sure the alcohol you’re drinking is real and not fake:

Shop smart: Always buy liquor from authorized retail outlets. Trust unauthorized stores or people selling liquor. Such establishments or people mostly try to sell counterfeit or adulterated liquor to make money.

Packaging reveals: Even if you buy from authorized stores, check the packaging carefully. Often counterfeiters sell counterfeit spirits in copycat packaging, while they can make exact copies of the packaging but are unable to perfect it. Look for damage in the packaging, discrepancies in the colors or size of the logo, dirty labels, misspellings, manipulated expiration dates, etc. For example, some counterfeit bottles have Johnnie Walker spelled with a “y.”

Check the seal: Make sure the bottle seal is secure and there are no signs of tampering. Feel around the neck of the bottle and see if it feels sticky. These are signs that the bottle contains either counterfeit or adulterated or diluted alcohol.


State revenue stamps: Most states in India except Goa and Maharashtra use tax stamps as an anti-counterfeiting and anti-tampering measure to ensure consumer and tax protection. These revenue stamps include various overt (visible), covert (invisible), and forensic security features, as well as digital features to ensure the authenticity of the spirit bottle. When purchasing, please ensure that the correct tax stamp is present on the bottle and that there are no signs of tampering.