The most popular fake item is vodka. The explanation is simple - alcoholic beverages have a guaranteed sale. Their fake is economically viable, since it requires a minimum of costs.
Pale vodka is produced in clandestine workshops, using the lowest quality raw materials. Alcohol goes to store shelves under the guise of products of famous brands, with labels, excise stamps and fake documents.
The use of such a product can have negative consequences, even death. According to doctors, people who regularly drink such drinks do not live to be forty years old, destruction in their body comes very quickly. Often in such vodka contains the strongest poison - methanol. It has the taste and smell of edible alcohol, but its price is much lower. Initially, methyl alcohol intoxicates, like real vodka. After some time, signs appear that can be used to judge severe poisoning, but they can easily be confused with the usual hangover, so people do not immediately go to the doctor. This type of alcohol can lead to heart attacks, strokes, blindness, persistent headaches, and other serious health problems.
Unfortunately, such a product can be bought even in the store. How to check whether singed vodka or not?
Signs of a fake
Vodka has a long history. This drink appeared during the transition of Russia to a three-field system for growing crops. This led to an incredible harvest. There was a lot of grain in people, and it had to be used somehow. The result was the emergence of vodka - a product of fermentation and distillation of wheat. Somewhat later, D.I. Mendeleev determined the ideal ratio of water and alcohol. This allowed the release of a product that soon became known around the world.
Demand for this drink has led to the birth of many ways to fake it. Singe vodka was sold at the price of the original. Manufacturers of fake product have shown ingenuity and have learned to fake even containers with labels, excise stamps, special corks and certificates. Therefore, consumers are interested in the question: "How to identify fake vodka?"
Price
The cheapness of an alcoholic beverage should alert you first. Usually in different stores the cost of alcohol is approximately the same. For the price, therefore, you can guess which vodka is singed. True, this feature is sometimes not enough to determine the quality of the product. Manufacturers of counterfeit products can set the same prices as in stores.
Place of sale
Most often, singed vodka is found on the shelves of small shops. To protect yourself, purchase goods in large supermarkets, there you will at least receive a check that confirms the fact of purchase. This will help prove the store’s guilt if necessary. But even in supermarkets you can buy a fake if it has the same certificates and excise stamps as high-quality vodka.
Capping quality
How to distinguish fake vodka on this basis? First of all, you need to pay attention to the type of bottle. Check if the cap is turning or leaking. Vodka in a bottle with a ball dispenser is in most cases real, since it is very difficult to fake such a container outside the production process.
The screw cap must be with a safety ring. An important characteristic is the level of liquid in the bottle. A container that has a screw plug must be filled to the middle of the neck. If a cap is used, then the liquid level is slightly higher than the shoulders.
Bottle contents
The drink must be inspected in the light, turning the container upside down. Look for sediment or other debris in it. Their presence suggests that vodka is falsified. If you shake the bottle, you can see large bubbles. This means that the drink contains a lot of water, and its quality is low. Singe vodka may be cloudy with a yellowish or pinkish tinge.
Date stamp
Each bottle must have a date stamp. Put it on the outside or inside of the label, on the glass of a bottle or cap. No matter where the stamp is located, the labels on it should be easy to read. The spill dates on the label and cap must match.
Label
Since in the factory the stickers on the bottles are applied automatically, they must be firmly, evenly glued and not have tears or other damage. Uneven and inaccurate smears of glue indicate that you have vodka in front of you. If the product is genuine, then the drawings and inscriptions on the label will be bright and easy to read. The label is fake on the fake, the inscriptions are illegible and may have grammatical errors. The barcode should be clear, not blurry.
Details of the manufacturer must be indicated on the label itself. The absence of such information may indicate that the enterprise as such does not exist at all. On the front side there should be a certification mark, license number, information about the date of bottling, about the strength of the drink and its composition, as well as the name and address of the manufacturer.
Alcohol quality
How to recognize fake vodka if nothing suspicious was found on the bottle? It will not be superfluous to evaluate the quality of alcohol. To do this, you need a teaspoon and a lighter. Heated vodka will flare up, and when it burns out, you need to smell the rest. A liquid with a pungent unpleasant odor has impurities in it.
To determine the presence of fusel oils in a drink that is suspicious, you need to add sulfuric acid to it in the same volume. If the vodka is blackened, it means that it contains fusel oils, and in large quantities. Try dipping the blue litmus test in alcohol . Acid impurities can be judged by staining it in red.
To determine the presence of methanol, 10 ml of a suspicious drink is mixed with a small amount of dissolved laundry soap, a couple of drops of iodine are added and heated over a fire. If methanol is present in vodka, then a yellow precipitate does not precipitate, which appears in the presence of ethanol or acetone.
Manufacturers Protection
To protect the product from fakes, some manufacturers use additional protection systems that cannot be faked. These are embossed emblems, and quality markers and more. If you want to purchase a quality product, read the information on the manufacturer’s website about what additional protection measures are used.
To protect yourself from fakes, you must buy alcohol in large stores that have information about a license to sell alcohol. Be attentive to the small details that fake vodka producers often forget.