What is Fake Alcohol?

What is Fake Alcohol?

Fake Alcohol comes in many varieties.

The Substitution Game

The substitution game has been around since the beginning of taverns. The unscrupulous bartender or owner will save empty bottles of higher end liquors and refill them a brand they can buy for less. In today's world vodka is one of the most common liquors that are substituted. Today's liquor consumer has an affinity for name brand Vodka that is often three and four times the price of their more common counterparts. If a bar refills an empty bottle of a $60 a bottle of Vodka with a $10 brand of vodka they are increasing their profit six-fold. This is easily accomplished by bars especially when the vodka is served in a mixed drink, it will take very discernable taste buds to realize the difference.

A part of the substitution game is watering down the liquor. This too is very easily done in bars with open bottles. After a third of the bottle is used, the bar tenders will set them aside and top these bottles off with water thus increasing the profit margin on these bottles by 33%. The water down game is hard to detect unless the consumer is drinking straight shots, even then only the most sophisticated connoisseur will recognize the difference. Although unscrupulous and fraudulent the substitution game is the least offensive of the fake alcohol schemes now being perpetuated on the drinking public. The substitution game does not endanger your health, the others do.

The Counterfeit Booze Game

Counterfeit booze is where the game becomes dangerous. The words counterfeit booze may suggest moonshine. Moonshine is unlicensed, unregulated distillation of high proof distilled spirits. Many moonshiners see their finished product as an art. Most moonshiners take the time and effort to use quality ingredients that will produce a spirit that has a high ethanol proof, making for a powerful alcoholic beverage.

The counterfeit booze that is alarming are the beverages being produced around the world by individuals and syndicates in a hurry to make easy money. The producers of this counterfeit booze do not have time or equipment to properly distill spirits. The average real distillation time is about four days. After four days of distillation vodka is still basically ethanol and water that has traditionally been made from grains or potatoes and water. The counterfeit booze producers have found ways to cut the process short and mix water with methanol and other non-ingestible alcohol compounds and chemicals. Methanol a common additive to solvents, antifreeze and other industrial products is deadly for human consumption.

The counterfeit booze enterprises take full advantage of the global marketplace and order counterfeit liquor bottles, caps and labels for their concoctions. Replica bottles with internationally recognized name brands are filled with the fake booze and distributed through numerous channels to reach retailers, bars, nightclubs and resorts and are sold at a fraction of their authentic counterpart. No brand or kind of alcoholic beverage is immune from the fake booze producers, although fake vodka is a favorite to them, all kinds, gin, whiskey, vodka, wine and even beer are produced by the fake booze makers.

When ingested fake alcohol containing methanol can lead to a myriad of health issues including death. Over the last five years hospitals around the world have seen a sharp rise in patients affected by counterfeit alcohol, including cases of blindness, nerve damage and death.

Report a Fake, Tainted, Counterfeit Alcohol Violation

The mission of SafeProof.org is to raise awareness of fake, tainted and counterfeit alcohol around the world. The goal is to keep you and your drinks safe. The information you provide will be anonymous unless you wish to be contacted. We will notify appropriate enforcement authorities and the media. Once the violations have been verified or suspected they will appear on the Fake Alcohol Search and an alert will be sent so that others do not fall victim to the alcohol predators.