Fake alcohol. How to distinguish fake alcohol by bottle or label? Stickers and excise stamps

On the sale of "elite alcoholic beverages» at prices that are several times less than store prices, . Now this topic has become very relevant, because such alcohol has become deadly. Here are the sad statistics of November 2015:

• In Krasnoyarsk, 12 died from poisoning with surrogate whiskey labeled Jack Daniel`s. The examination showed that the drink consisted of 60% methyl alcohol. Two men in Orenburg died from the same drink.
• In the Moscow region, four men drank a surrogate cognac with the labels "Lezginka" and "Kizlyar". Two have died. In the same area, a company of five men bought a surrogate rum labeled Bacardi. Two died, and one was an employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation.
• Two women died from poisoning by the "leftist" Bacardi in Kursk, and in Chuvashia - two girls and a young man.

As Valentina Matvienko recently stated, 60% of alcohol in the country is counterfeit. And five years ago it was no more than 15%. All famous brands are counterfeited. elite alcohol- gins, whiskey, cognacs, rum, vodka ... For example, in March of this year, during a raid of the Tula customs and the UEBiPK of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Tula region, 144,030 bottles were seized alcoholic products labeled Hennessy, Red Label, Chivas Regal, Jack Daniel's, Olmeca, etc.

Denis Nikonov, CEO of Dionis:

Denis Nikonov

We took open data for Tula and the Tula region. In October 2015 alone, more than 700,000 bottles were seized in the region counterfeit alcohol. For comparison, according to statistics, a total of 700,000 bottles of vodka per month are sold in the regional retail chain. That is, only the seized volume of counterfeit alcohol is equal to the monthly turnover. And how many are left in the shadows?!

What is all this elite "yummy" made of? As the results of the examinations show, usually low-quality alcohol (the cheapest, unrefined, perhaps even methyl) and additive powders (as yuppies used to be bred). After taking such liquids, you can simply not wake up.

The distribution channels for counterfeit alcohol are wide - online stores, taxi drivers, garages - they are also popularly called "garage duty free". Yes, and small shops, especially those selling from under the floor at night,.

Many do not think about the fact that high-quality alcohol of well-known brands cannot cost
300-500 rubles.

And no excuses like “this is a confiscation from customs” should convince you to risk your health and life. Just because the Tula customs does not clear anything alcoholic. And the alcohol confiscated in underground workshops is destroyed by the police.

Another "argument" from fans of "garage duty free": well, before that, they always bought, drank - and nothing! And putting rum or whiskey on the table is more prestigious than ordinary vodka. By the way, we asked (incognito, of course) university professors - what do students usually give them? The most common option is half a liter Cognac Hennessy XO in a box. And respected teachers have no idea that a drink can be bought via the Internet for 500 rubles. Real Hennessy XO is at least an order of magnitude more expensive! Yes, and there is no such cognac in a half-liter container.

Or another situation. When ordering in restaurants and cafes corporate banquets or weddings, they agree that alcohol will be brought separately. And if earlier it was ordinary vodka and wine, now elite whiskeys and cognacs are used for prestige. From garage duty free. Establishments that value their reputation usually refuse such a service.

Another example. Guests dropped in on the light on Friday evening. With a prestigious bottle of rum or whiskey. You will be looking at excise stamp and torture a friend, where and how much he bought alcohol, demand a check from the store? Well, to be honest, no. But in vain.

You can buy any alcohol only at licensed outlets,” explains Denis Nikonov. - There is a minimum opportunity to buy crafts. From January 1, 2016, licensed stores must be equipped with the EGAIS system (a unified state automated information system designed for state control over the volume of production and turnover of ethyl alcohol, alcoholic and alcohol-containing products). And from July 1, 2016, the sale must be carried out using special scanners that read the alcohol brand. According to it, the system determines what kind of drink, where and when it was produced. And if something does not match, the checkout is blocked. Also, the buyer will also receive a special check with a QR code. EGAIS is the only system that guarantees that alcohol is not counterfeit.

One of the most famous sommeliers in Russia Erkin Tuzmukhamedov claims that outwardly it is difficult even for representatives of trading companies to distinguish fakes from legal products.

Erkin Tuzmukhamedov

Erkin Tuzmukhamedov advises, if possible, to study guaranteed legal samples - in order to be able to distinguish fakes.

We decided to conduct a master class on recognizing fakes. They invited experts from a company that specializes in the sale of alcohol. They brought real copies of elite alcohol and their fake copies (in the company they serve as simulators - they are used to train staff to recognize "left products").

For every bottle of quality alcohol, there is a surrogate copy. And this is only part of the iceberg of the shadow alcohol market.

The hardest thing was to recognize Russian products- knowledge of polygraphy helped, on the "left" samples of the label aroused suspicion.

With imported alcohol, everything was even more interesting. So, let's remember.

1. Expensive alcohol is not poured into a 0.5 liter container. For example, Hennessy XO can be either 0.35L or 0.7L. And Johnnie Walker Blue Label whiskey is bottled only in 0.7 liters.

On the right is real cognac. It is poured into a 0.3 liter
bottle (option - 0.7). The letters on the label are embossed.
On the left is a fake in a half-liter package.

Attention to the lids: on the right - real bottle, on the left is a fake.

2. Alcohol counterfeiting on such a scale would be impossible if shadow producers had nowhere to buy bottles of the desired shape and size.

Here we are lucky so far, - says Denis Nikonov, - you can easily distinguish the original from the local fake by looking at the bottom. In Russia, on most production lines, the bottle has an orientator - a special recess on the bottom (a special recess or bulge on the container to stick labels evenly relative to other elements) - on the bottom. And the original foreign lines center the bottle on special chamfers or recesses on the cylindrical part. Therefore, the orientator on the bottom of the allegedly imported bottle is a 99% counterfeit bottle.

On the right is real whiskey, on the left is fake. Understanding the details

On the left: the orientator on the bottom means that the bottle was made on the Russian line. This is definitely a "left" whisky. But it happens that the bottle has both a bottom and a side orientator. This is also counterfeit!

Imported alcohol must have an excise stamp. If a federal special stamp is glued, then the product is made in Russia. Whiskey with a federal special stamp on the bottle is clearly garage-made. Don't drink - you may not wake up.

The real Jack got sharp bottle ribs
cover under polyethylene and embossed inscription on the neck

The “left Jack” has an inscription in Russian on the bottom of the bottle - 1 liter.

3. On counterfeit bottles, alcohol brands (excise or special) are fake. Only fakes can be different levels execution. After all, the brand itself is, in fact, a banknote, the same paper with watermarks, holograms and other degrees of protection. alcohol stamp blurry, without a hologram - this is a counterfeit. Often, not an excise stamp, but a federal special stamp is glued to the "left" elite products, often with an incorrect indication of displacement.

Alcohol stamps from liter bottles of rum. Correct - top

Champagne correct - on the right, and fake - on the left.
As they say, no comment.

Is there a danger that in a bar or nightclub, restaurant or cafe, they will pour “leftist alcohol”? Artem Grigoriev, sommelier, wine school coach, believes that if you are 100 percent sure of the institution's reputation and a specific waiter or bartender, then you can order drinks by the glass. But it’s still better to take an unopened bottle - so that after drinking 200 grams of whiskey you don’t have to guess what it was and where I spent the next three days?

Artyom Grigoriev

According to Artem, they fake everything famous drinks, most often Georgian wines. And vodka is also counterfeited. For example, you probably saw packaging boxes for vodka near convenience stores. royal hunt". But such a brand legal in nature does not exist!

Sergei Prokopets, a well-known bartender, a member of the Russian Bartenders Association, believes that there is a danger of getting a glass of "leftist" alcohol in public catering.

Sergey Prokopets

It's all about the human factor. Even the manager may not guess what the bartender earns extra money. And video recording cameras in the bar area do not help here. There are cases, we sort them into associations, when in decent clubs instead of absinthe, for example, wine syrup is poured. All these moments are on the conscience of the bartender. Therefore, if you are confident in him, know him personally - one question. But I advise you to be vigilant and carefully watch what you pour drinks from. Suspicion should cause a bottle of 0.5 liters. Restaurants and clubs buy larger volumes with factory dispensers.

And also, according to Sergey Prokopets, real product worth the money, because it has been worked on for centuries, making a bouquet and developing production technology. And do not deceive yourself by buying an elite branded drink at a cheap price.

No dubious shops and provincial stalls. Buy alcohol in retail chains that monitor reputation and carefully select suppliers. Roughly speaking, if there is an expired product on the shelves in a supermarket, then alcohol there must be chosen with particular captiousness.

Always when buying alcohol, you should be given a check, and ideally, ask for a passport, even if you don’t look like a schoolboy for a long time.

Price

Very good stuff and not cheap. If you are offered aged French cognac for 800 rubles, then something is wrong. If you want to buy an expensive one, first look at how much it costs, compare prices on the Internet, do not run after a good price.

It is not interesting to fake very cheap alcohol of unpromoted brands; rather, it will initially be of poor quality. So take it good drinks by checking the authenticity.

Bottle

Branded alcohol is poured into special bottles with an unusual shape, edges on the neck, embossed inscriptions. If you want to buy specific alcohol well-known brand, try to find the manufacturer's website and evaluate how the bottle differs from any other.

Pay attention to:

• Cover material. Made of plastic, metal or cork, with or without a lid, plain or embossed, flat or domed. Lid good alcohol does not scroll, does not flow. On the caps of vodka bottles there is a number by which the bottle can be checked for authenticity on the manufacturer's website.
• Neck shape. Long or short, with or without edges. A bottle with a dispenser is a sign that it was made at the factory, and not underground.
• Bottle shape. Pay attention to the curves, the shoulders of the bottle, the topography of the bottom.
• Relief inscriptions and images. On expensive alcohol, there are often inscriptions with the name of the drink, symbols of the trading house, and other designations. On fakes, these inscriptions are either not repeated at all, or not all are reproduced, or the place of application is confused.

Excise stamp

The tax stamp is printed on special paper with colored fibers, all the numbers and codes on it are clear, clearly visible and readable. The stamp must be glued absolutely evenly.

Excise stamps must be checked by organizations that have a license to sell alcohol. For you and me, there is a service of the Unified Social Portal of the Alcohol Market.

Enter the numbers from the excise stamp and check if the brand of the product matches. The service works in test mode, that is, apparently, its data does not always correspond to reality. However, we tested five bottles produced and purchased from different places, and they all passed the test.

Label

The label of quality alcohol is made on good paper, often with embossing or complex elements.

If you are looking for a specific brand, compare the order in which the information on the label should appear. On branded products, all labels repeat the pattern, and product names are accompanied by a registered trademark icon.

It is obligatory to indicate the address of the manufacturer (legal and place of production), composition, there must be links to regulatory documents.

Bottle content

It can help if you buy alcohol in a clear glass bottle and know what the desired drink looks like.

• Cognac, if you turn the bottle upside down, leaves oily streaks on the glass. They are called cognac legs.
• The same goes for good whisky. We must remember that whiskey - transparent drink, sediment and flakes should not be there.
• Vodka - only transparent, without sediment.

But on appearance drink can only be distinguished by a completely artisanal fake.

Here we are only talking about fakes, but it happens also simply low-quality alcohol, such as wine made from a mixture of alcohol with dyes and flavors. Only reading the label with the composition will help here, indicating the GOSTs according to which the alcohol is made. And your feelings. If you open a bottle and you think that something is wrong, do not finish drinking and do not check. Better to lose money than health.

The most effective way to protect against bad alcohol

They know how to fake everything, up to excise stamps. Therefore, the most effective method protection from bad alcohol- choice of place of purchase and alcohol, which you can check on the manufacturer's website.

How to recognize methyl alcohol

No way. Although there are recipes for the determination of methanol.

Dipping heated copper wire into alcohol, for example. Methanol, when reacting with copper, will release formaldehyde, you will feel a pungent odor. Ethanol doesn't behave like that. But ethanol will also smell, albeit not so vile. There is another option with igniting alcohol and revealing the shade of the flame (methanol burns greenish).

These ways work if you compare two pure species alcohol. And methanol can be added to alcohol in different proportions, diluted and mixed with dyes, flavors and ethanol.

Symptoms of methyl alcohol poisoning

At first, methanol poisoning does not differ from alcohol poisoning: dizziness, nausea, headache. Then there are warning signs:

• Pain all over the body.
• Loss of vision.
• Dyspnea.
• Cardiopalmus.

What to do to avoid poisoning with methanol

1. Drink only alcohol from trusted places and only high quality.
2. Never get drunk enough to miss the first signs of poisoning, that is, until you lose the ground under your feet and feel sick.
3. With symptoms of poisoning, urgently call an ambulance and get to the doctors.
4. Before the arrival of doctors, provide first aid when.

While regular ethanol helps slow down alcohol poisoning, don't self-medicate with alcohol.

Currently, there are so many elite varieties of alcohol that were previously inaccessible to a simple man in the street. And what is the cost of advertising, which simply beckons to try real Scotch whiskey, expensive French cognac, Mexican tequila and other popular alcoholic drinks. Naturally, the price of such products goes off scale, and unfortunately, scammers use this without a twinge of conscience, pushing a cheap fake under the guise of elite varieties of alcohol.

Often you can run into such a surrogate on the eve of the holidays, when the need for first-class alcohol increases significantly. Victims of fraudsters very often become people who are tempted by a low price, but as you know: free cheese can only be in a mousetrap. And it’s good if fake alcohol simply tastes significantly different from the real one. In some cases, such a fake can cause serious harm to health and you can pay for it at the cost of your own life.

How not to fall for this bait and not become a victim of deception? How to distinguish a fake from the original without resorting to some specialized tests?

Is it possible to recognize a surrogate product by appearance? These and other questions will be answered in the next article.

Signs of counterfeit products

Of course, first of all, branded products are subject to falsification, for which you can get a decent amount of money with minimal costs. The buyer of such a fake will be very lucky if he gets off with only deep disappointment, and does not experience a strong hangover in the morning, or, even worse, poisoning with low-quality alcohol.

Usually the deception is revealed after the bottle is uncorked and its contents are poured into glasses. The smell and taste of a fake is significantly different from the original product. And what embarrassment will happen if such alcohol was bought as a gift. But the fact is that it is impossible to recognize a fake by taste or smell before buying, but there are a lot of other signs by which, looking at a bottle of elite alcohol, you can understand whether it is original or not before buying, thereby saving money and preserving your own health.

The first thing you should focus on when purchasing any alcohol is: the label, cost and excise stamp.

It is by these signs that you can easily distinguish counterfeit products:

1. Label. The original sticker is always glued neatly and evenly, while on a fake it is oblique and crooked. The company label must contain all information about alcohol, and on a fake - only a small part of it. In addition, the sticker on quality alcohol is always made of good paper, often with complex elements or embossing, and the inscriptions on it are accompanied by a registered trademark icon.
2. Real elite alcohol always has a high cost, so you should not be tempted by a cheap product, because it's just money thrown away. It makes practically no sense to counterfeit cheap alcohol, because a lot of money is made precisely on the falsification of elite varieties of alcohol, for which the buyer is ready to fork out. Therefore, you should always know the approximate price of the desired alcohol, so as not to stumble upon scammers.
3. Excise stamp. It is always glued parallel to the cork and the neck so that it is not damaged when opened. At the same time, it must be glued absolutely evenly, the numbers and barcodes on it must be well read.

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Choice of expensive alcohol

Different types of alcohol have their own characteristics, which are clearly distinguishable on a counterfeit product. If you know what exactly to look for when buying a product, you can significantly protect yourself from a possible fake.

Features of the original vodka

- This is alcohol, which is most often falsified. In addition, it is fake vodka that contains many poisonous oils and harmful substances that cause poisoning and cause irreparable damage to the health of the body.

How not to fall for the trick of scammers when choosing vodka:

1. When buying, you should pay attention only to alcohol of well-known brands.
2. It is necessary to purchase alcohol only in licensed and specialized stores, supermarkets, and in no case should you buy it in dubious stalls and provincial stores.
3. The original product will not be cheap, the price for quality and a well-known brand is always going through the roof. And if we add to this the excise tax, VAT, the cost of production and trade markup, then the price for a half liter bottle of high-quality branded vodka will be at least three hundred rubles.
4. A scrolling or loosely closed lid immediately indicates counterfeit. On original product it is tightly attached to the neck, which prevents accidental unwinding.
5. excise tax on quality vodka glued in the form of the letter G or the letter P, without fail crossing the neck and cork of the bottle. When uncorking a bottle, the excise stamp must not lose its integrity, peel off or be damaged. Freely lagging behind the bottle and leaving no traces of glue on it, the excise stamp indicates that such vodka is a surrogate, or the plant that produces such products does not comply with the technology, standards and workmanship.
6. Expensive alcohol always has a certificate, which must contain the excise number and series that match this information on the bottle. Besides, original bottle expensive vodka contains at the base a laser marking of letters and numbers, filled with small black dots during release. At the same time, it should be noted that such an inscription is not erased, which makes it one of the signs of original products.
7. The label of quality alcohol contains the number of the license under which this alcohol is made. In addition, the manufacturer's code and the date of production are indicated there. The absence of any of these standards speaks of counterfeit products.
8. Expensive high-quality vodka should not contain impurities, sediment and white bloom. It should be transparent, clean and colorless. For such a check, it is enough just to turn the bottle upside down and bring it to the light. If any formations remain at the bottom, then the alcohol is of poor quality, or diluted with water.
9. You can also check real vodka or not in this way: turn the bottle upside down and shake a little in a circular motion. If you have an original in front of you, a characteristic “snake” of small bubbles should appear. If the bubbles are too large, or immediately disappear, then you have a fake.
10. In any case, the buyer always has the right to demand a certificate of conformity from the store, or a certificate proving the authenticity of the product and its quality.

How to choose real wine

High-end wines are not as often counterfeited as vodka, as there aren't many exclusive brands available today, making wine more difficult to counterfeit.

Features of the original wine:

1. Producers of elite wines protect their products with holograms or special markings containing small symbols. Such tags are quite expensive in cost, so it is absolutely not profitable to fake them.
2. Expensive blended wines contain special labels attached to the base of the bottle, which is marked "Extra Aged" or "Collector's". In addition, such wine always has a collar, which indicates the year of the grape harvest, which was used to make such a drink.
3. It is necessary to pay attention to wine cork. In quality expensive alcohol, it is usually made from a single piece of wood, does not crumble, does not peel off and does not fall into the drink. Cheap fakes or low-quality wines are usually corked with compressed wood waste or with an ordinary plastic cork.
4. The corks of exclusive expensive wines, among other things, also contain an imprint that contains information about the grape variety and the release date of the product. Wherein quality cork has a pleasant berry aroma inherent in good wine, while a fake often smells of dampness or mold.
5. You should also pay attention to the counter-label, which on elite wines contains a diagram of the region in which this batch was made. And also there are data on the vineyard, the fruits of which were taken for the preparation of the product.
6. Just like with vodka, it is necessary to check for excise stamps and certified documents proving the quality and authenticity of the wine.
7. Cheap wines are often a substitute, so you should opt for a more expensive product.
8. dry or semi-dry wine, as well as brut, are much harder to fake than sweet or fortified ones. Because it is in sweet wines that it is easiest to hide flaws that will be invisible due to the presence of sugar.
9. Expensive wine can also be tested for the presence of artificial colors, but this can only be done after purchase at home. To do this, you need to: pour wine into a small vial, cover the opening of the vessel with your finger and lower it into a large number of clean water and then remove your finger. If the wine dissolves in water, then it is a fake. You can also put a few drops of alcohol on a piece of white chalk. If, after some time, the chalk has changed its color, it means that the bottle you bought contains non-natural dyes and other additives.

How to distinguish real cognac from a fake

When buying, you should pay attention to the following signs:

1. Be sure to focus on the density of the product. To do this, you just need to turn the bottle over and see what happens next. If, after the manipulations done, a large drop of the drink came off the bottom and fell, then the density of the purchased cognac meets the standards of expensive high-quality alcohol. This also speaks of the aging of the drink, which is at least five years.
2. Also, the density can be checked by the bubbles that form immediately after the bottle is turned over. In a high-quality original product, large bubbles first appear, which gradually break up into small ones.
3. Elite varieties of cognac have a pleasant blending aroma and refined taste. The characteristic alcohol flavor when uncorking the bottle indicates counterfeit. This is also evidenced by the vanilla flavor, which is often added in order to drown out unpleasant odors artificial colors or flavors.
4. Just like with wine or vodka, elite varieties cognac must have certified documents confirming the authenticity of the drink.

How is real whiskey different?

What should be guided by when choosing:

1. The first and most important thing when choosing such a product is transparency, the absence of sediment and various impurities. It does not matter what color and shade the product is, but it is the transparency that speaks of the quality water used for its manufacture and the observance of the technologies for its preparation. High-quality alcohol should not be thick and cloudy, it should not contain any plaque or sediment.
2. When shaking original whiskey large bubbles form in the bottle. They remain for a long time and do not break up into small fragments. In addition, bubbles slowly flow down the walls of the container, which indicates the quality of the product. In the surrogate, however, there are no characteristic traces of alcohol when draining.
3. Natural whiskey has an exclusive oak aroma and the smell of malt. The pungent smell of alcohol indicates a poor-quality product.

Typical signs of counterfeit products

Is the most forged of all various kinds brandy products. According to statistics, sales of this alcoholic beverage far exceed its production. Thus, it turns out that approximately eighty percent of all products sold are fake. One out of four bottles sold is assigned to the share of original products.

When buying, you need to pay attention to the following:

• the original "Hennessy" is sold in bottles with a capacity of 0.7 liters and 0.33 liters, all other containers are considered falsification;
• a loosely closed or turning lid indicates the clandestine manufacture of the product;
• the original is characterized by the presence of a brand logo - “a hand with a raised halberd”, which is almost always absent in fake alcohol.

Irish Whiskey "Jameson"

Distinctive features of the original Irish whiskey:

• the real "Jameson" distinguishes metal cover, not covered by any shell;
• the original is characterized by the presence of two embossed inscriptions on the bottle: “Product of Ireland”, located under the label at the bottom and “John Jameson” at the bottom of reverse side.

Mexican tequila "Olmeca"

For the following differences can be distinguished:

• original cover is smooth;
• a bottle of such alcohol is characterized by relief and roughness, creating a pleasant tactile sensation;
• on the label pattern, two small circles stand out between the bends, while counterfeit products contain ovals instead.

American Bourbon "Jim Beam"

A real American is characterized by the following features:

• the cover of the original is smooth and devoid of ribbing;
• the lower part of the neck contains facets, unlike a fake, where the entire neck is faceted, and not just its base;

WITH counterfeit products anyone can face. The share of counterfeit alcohol on the market is growing inexorably, so no one is immune from this. But you should not despair, because, knowing some of the nuances and features that are characteristic of both a fake and an original, you can safely go shopping without fear of becoming a victim of scammers. In any case, forewarned is forearmed!

On the eve of the upcoming New Year, the volume of sales of alcoholic products increases sharply. Unscrupulous dealers take advantage of this and actively throw fake alcoholic products on the market, so take note of this informational article.

Why is counterfeit alcohol dangerous?

Fake alcohol may contain methanol - methyl, or wood alcohol. It is also called technical, it is a terrible poison, and it is from it that people die or become disabled.
As is the case with ordinary ethyl alcohol, once in the bloodstream, methyl alcohol passes through the liver, where, like its safer counterpart, it is oxidized by an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). If not for this chemical reaction, technical alcohol would not carry any danger: by itself, it does not have high toxicity. Therefore, the first thing that a person who has drunk such alcohol feels is the usual symptoms of intoxication.
However, under the influence of ADH, methanol is converted into formaldehyde and formic acid. These products are extremely unhealthy: they damage the central nervous system, in particular - the retina and optic nerve, leading to blindness and severe poisoning with failure of the kidneys and other internal organs.

Where can you buy alcohol?

in the Russian Federation, only organizations can sell alcohol, but not individuals. Low alcohol drinks- beer, cider, mead can be sold by both companies and individual entrepreneurs. You can buy alcohol only in outlets that have a license for the retail sale of alcoholic products. A copy of the license must be displayed prominently in the Consumer Corner. When selling a drink along with a bottle, you must be given a receipt. Any sale of alcohol by hand or through an online store is illegal.

How to distinguish fake alcohol?

As a rule, legal producers pour alcoholic products into consumer containers that have special distinctive features (original corrugations, embossing, etc.). The label and back label must be pasted evenly without distortions.

All alcoholic products produced in the territory customs union, is pasted over with federal special stamps, and imported alcoholic products are pasted over with excise duty stamps. Such marking confirms the payment of excise duty on each bottle produced by alcoholic beverages.

To visually recognize the authenticity of such brands, you can use the following recommendations:
1. They are printed on self-adhesive paper, which has a special UV emission;
2. A copper holographic foil with a pattern and repeating images of the Coat of Arms is pressed onto the paper for printing excise stamps. Russian Federation and abbreviations "RF";
3. A security thread with an irregular window has been inserted into the paper. The window shows the image applied to the thread in the form of pink stripes. Under the influence of ultraviolet light, the image is visualized as the abbreviation "RF" in pink, blue and yellow-orange colors in an oval ring;
4. The abbreviation "RF" is printed on the reverse side of the stamps;
5. An element printed with color-shifting ink changes color from purple to brown depending on the viewing angle;
6. The stamp number is printed by inkjet printing and consists of three digits indicating the grade and nine digits of the stamp number itself;
7. The information on the brand and label of the bottle must match. Here are the name of the alcoholic product, the type of alcoholic product, the capacity of the container, the fortress, the name of the manufacturer and its location.

QR codes will allow each buyer to check the legality of alcohol

On July 1 this year, new rules came into force in the Russian Federation retail alcohol products: each bottle sold will be registered in a special database, and a QR code on the check will allow the buyer to track the history of production and sale of purchased alcohol. But market participants are skeptical about the innovation of the federal authorities.

The history of the existence of a unified state automated information system (EGAIS) begins in 2006, when manufacturers of alcoholic beverages were obliged to register their products in it. In 2015, wholesalers were connected to EGAIS, who began to record goods purchased from manufacturers in the system. And from the middle of this year, the final link - the buyer in the store - will be “connected” to the MANUFACTURER-BUYER chain. Thus, the state, represented by the Federal Service for the Regulation of the Alcohol Market, will be able to control the entire chain of movement of goods from production to sale.

The technical side of the process looks like this:

Image is clickable

The cashier must have a scanner at the checkout, which is able to read the necessary information from a special or excise stamp. After scanning, it is processed by the EGAIS cash register module and transmitted with an electronic digital signature to the Rosalkogolregulirovanie server. Thus, accounting is carried out in the "online" mode.

The sequence of actions of the cashier will look like this:

Image is clickable

The buyer brings products to the checkout, among which there is alcohol;
The cashier reads the barcode of the goods;
When reading the code of an alcoholic product, the cashier will have to read one more barcode from the bottle (or box);
If the reading is successful, the product is added to the check, otherwise the sale of this product is canceled;
The cash register software generates a special file and sends it to the EGAIS data server;
The check is closed with the printed slip of alcoholic products and the buyer, having read the QR code from the slip of alcoholic products, can check its legality.

This is how the slip with the QR code looks like:

Image is clickable

If, when reading the barcode during the sale, the server does not form a slip, then you will not be able to buy alcohol: either the sticker with the barcode is unreadable, or the product is counterfeit.

How to understand that he was poisoned by a surrogate?

The insidiousness of methanol intoxication lies in the fact that its first symptoms are too similar to the consequences of ordinary drunkenness: a person may complain of dizziness, nausea, severe weakness.
However, other warning signs develop within a few hours. It can be:
- severe pain throughout the body;
- deterioration of vision, in which the picture before the eyes can swim and obscure dancing spots appear;
- slow heartbeat and breathing;
- a coma in which a drunk person does not respond to external stimuli and does not wake up.
Such symptoms are a sign of great trouble. If you suspect methanol poisoning, you should urgently call ambulance and begin to provide first aid on their own.

First aid for alcohol poisoning

First of all, having discovered alcohol poisoning in a person, it is necessary to call emergency help. Waiting time should not be wasted. Need to take a series necessary measures to alleviate the patient's condition and try to remove some of the poisons from the body.

The most effective first aid is to wash the patient's stomach. This causes the victim to vomit. The patient should drink a soda solution or boiled water with the addition of potassium permanganate. It is necessary to help him by irritating the tongue with a finger or a spoon. Extreme care should be taken so that the patient's vomit does not enter his respiratory tract, causing suffocation. It is necessary to give his body a horizontal position and turn his head to the side. Inducing vomiting prevents further absorption of alcoholic toxins into the blood, and prevents the development of coma from a pre-coma state;

Holding the tongue of the patient, you should collect mucus from his tongue and oral cavity with the help of a medical pear;

First aid may include drinking plenty of fluids for the patient. However, treatment in this way is not always appropriate, with violations of breathing and swallowing reflex, the victim may choke on the liquid;

When the patient stops breathing, resuscitation should be undertaken by cleaning the oral cavity and performing artificial respiration. When the pulse slows down, the patient should be given an injection of cordiamine under the skin;

In case of loss of consciousness, it is necessary to ensure an immediate flow of blood to the vessels of the brain. To do this, quickly and intensively rub the patient's auricles;

Alcohol poisoning leads to excessive vasodilation in the victim. Heat leaves the body very quickly. Therefore, when providing assistance, you need to wrap the patient in a warm blanket or put warm woolen clothes on him;

To stimulate the heart, first aid may include chest compressions. If a person does not know how to properly perform massage manipulations, you should massage the tip of the nose, the areas under it and the lower lip. Irritation of active points stimulates cardiac activity and respiration;

First aid for alcohol poisoning must certainly be accompanied by oxygen access for the patient. It is necessary to loosen constricting clothing, unbutton the collar, and also ensure that the room is ventilated, even in winter time. If possible, it is better to move the patient to fresh air;

Alcohol poisoning means severe intoxication organism. Therefore, first aid at home must be followed by treatment in a hospital in order to thoroughly cleanse the patient's body of toxins and poisons that poison vital organs. Outpatient treatment may consist of a set of measures aimed at detoxifying the body, in severe cases, after transferring the patient to the hospital, resuscitation measures follow.

How to distinguish fake alcohol from the real one? Below are some simple ways:

Before reading the information below, remember the most important thing when buying alcohol - SAVE YOUR PURCHASE RECEIPT!

If you buy champagne

Distinguish what is in front of you - soda with alcohol or real a sparkling wine(champagne) can be on the bubbles. Throw something into the champagne glass, like a cherry. If it instantly becomes covered with small and frequent bubbles - you have real champagne in front of you. If the bubbles are large and rare, they will quickly float to the surface - in front of you is a fake. By the way, any object thrown into a bottle of soda is covered with just such bubbles.

If you buy vodka

1. Price. The minimum retail price for vodka was increased from June 13, 2016 to 190 rubles per 0.5 liter. Accordingly, if the capacity of a bottle of vodka is one liter, then the price is twice as expensive. If you prefer a certain brand of vodka, then you should know the average price of a bottle. If in one of the stores the price is 15-30 percent lower and no current promotion, then the risk of buying fake vodka there increases several times. The cost of the same vodka in different stores cannot differ much.
At the same time, it should be noted that earlier it was the low price that gave out fake vodka, but now the counterfeiters have wised up and in most cases sell their surrogate at the price of the original.

2. Color. real vodka absolutely transparent without turbidity and sediment at the bottom. To check this, just turn the bottle upside down, hold it for a few seconds and look through it at sunlight. Vodka should not have third-party particles, orange, light yellow and other shades. If the color changes, then you have poor purification vodka, the alcohol or water of which contains third-party impurities.

3. Pay attention to the sticker of the excise duty stamp. (This has been discussed above). When the cork is rotated, this sticker is damaged. If the brand is easily removed or folded back without any problems, without leaving any marks on the bottle, then you most likely have a fake, or the products of an enterprise that does not comply with the technology.

4. Give preference to well-known companies and brands.

5. Do not buy vodka from your hands. Buy alcohol in specialized stores or well-known large hypermarkets.

6. The cork should not scroll freely.

7. If you have doubts about the quality of products, ask for a certificate of conformity and a quality certificate.

8. If you buy imported vodka, make sure that the series and numbers of the excise duty stamp, which is pasted on the bottle, match the series and numbers in the certificate of conformity. Moreover, on the glass of such vodka there should be laser marking (numbers and letters applied with small black dots). The marking cannot be erased.

9. Pay attention to the label. It must indicate the date of manufacture of the product, the code of the enterprise and the number of the license for production. Moreover, branded labels are glued evenly. On fakes, these rules are not respected.

10. Turn the bottle over and shake it in a circular motion. A “snake” should appear, which is formed by small bubbles. If, at the same time, the bubbles are large and quickly disappear, it is safe to assume that you have a fake in front of you.

11. Notice if there is a whitish residue on the glass of the bottle. If a precipitate is present, this indicates that the alcohol is diluted with ordinary water.

12. There is an opinion that industrial vodka leaves a mark. To do this, the bottom of the bottle is scrolled in the palm of your hand. There is a trace of the conveyor.

If you buy wine

Warnings about the need to check labeling with excise stamps and the availability of documents certifying the quality of alcoholic products are also true for wine.

1. If you buy collection wines, check for additional labels indicating “Collection, additionally aged”, etc. As a rule, a collar is glued to the neck of the bottle indicating the year of the grape harvest from which the wine is made.

2. If the wine is controlled by the origin of the names, the bottle will have the inscription “Wine of the controlled by origin names”, and the back labels will schematically depict the territory of the region where the wine is made, with the designation of vineyards.

Another very important point: many taste deficiencies that are clearly contained in wine (spoiled, with foreign flavors, etc.) can be masked by adding sugar. As a consequence, the wine will have a sweet or very sweet taste. Often, this is found in sparkling (champagne) or effervescent (carbonated) wines.
So if you really want to enjoy good wine, you should opt for dry or semi-dry drinks.

3. Pay attention to the quality of the cork. If the cork crumbles when screwing the corkscrew, then most likely it is overdue. This means that the quality of the wine is not so important to the manufacturer. The only thing that matters is the amount of money you earn. If you have a receipt, you can return this wine.

4. Do not buy wine at a suspiciously low price.
Very often, fruit and berry and indeed any other flavored wines contain special preservatives (additives) of artificial origin, which are harmful.
To determine if they have been added to wine artificial dyes, you can use one of the simplest ways:
-Pour the wine into a small bottle, close the neck with your finger, then dip into a container with clean water and remove your finger. Real wine will not dissolve in water. If this happened, then you have a fake.

There is another way. Take ordinary chalk and put a few drops of wine on it. Wait a little. If, after drying, the stain becomes light, then the wine is free of artificial colors. If it turned into any other color, then dyes are present.

If you buy cognac

1. You already know about the check of excise stamps and the availability of quality documents.

2. Pay attention to the density of cognac.
Turn the bottle upside down. If the cognac is expensive and of high quality, a heavy drop should fall from the bottom of the bottle, and traces of runoff will remain on the walls. Fake or low quality cognac will drain down the walls very quickly.

After purchase, the quality of cognac can be checked in the following ways:
-Pour cognac into a special glass (snifter). Touch your finger to its outer wall and see if your fingerprints remain on it. If yes, it is safe to say that this is a genuine drink.
- The taste of vanilla, present in cognac, can often indicate its fake, because. they are often masked by flavorings added to cognac.

3. It is noteworthy that Hennesy XO cognac is not produced in a volume of 0.5 liters (only 0.35 and 0.7).
It is even rumored that sales of this type of cognac in the world exceed its production by three to four times. In other words, only every third or fourth bottle of Hennessy is an original. Everything else (about 80 percent) is fake.

If you buy whiskey

1. Good whiskey can't be cheap.

2. Pay attention to the appearance of the bottle. For example, a sign fake whiskey Jameson is: no embossed inscription on the bottle, as well as a plastic shell on the cap.
There may also be an incorrectly pasted or poor quality label. Incorrect labels on lids.

3. High-quality whiskey is always transparent (this indicates the purity of water and compliance with production technology) and does not contain sediment.

4. Shake the whiskey well and look for bubbles. They should last a long time and be large.

Unfortunately, very often a fake from the original can be distinguished only after purchasing the product. So, if whiskey reeks of alcohol and does not have a light oak or malt aroma characteristic of it, then you have a fake.

How to distinguish ordinary alcohol from technical?

In some cases, it is possible to determine low-quality alcohol only after the bottle is opened. How to distinguish an alcoholic surrogate?

Methyl alcohol in appearance and smell does not differ in any way from ordinary ethyl alcohol. Therefore, the main protection against poisoning is to buy drinks in trusted places.
If for some reason you suspect that alcohol is fake, try checking it at home:
- if set on fire Reviver based on ethyl alcohol, then it should burn with a blue flame, while burning methanol has a green color;
-if the drink is transparent, throw a small piece of raw potato into the bottle: industrial alcohol he will acquire pink shade, and in high-quality vodka it will remain - white;
- if you heat a copper wire on a fire and lower it into a liquid, then methanol will give itself out with an unpleasant pungent smell of formaldehyde, ethanol does not smell at all during the test.

Of course, the most reasonable thing to do would be to refuse the tasting in any doubtful case, even if chemical experiments found nothing suspicious.

The Site Administration reminds that excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages is harmful to your health.
This resource does not promote the use of alcohol.

Many people would like to know the taste of real cognac, tequila, whiskey and other elite, which costs a considerable amount of money. But at present, this "weakness" is used by numerous scammers who offer buyers, passing it off as noble and elite. Often you can get a fake before the holidays, at a time when the demand of buyers for this product. Even if it is a high-quality fake that will not bring any harm to health, however, its taste will still be very different from natural product.

It is worth knowing that most often scammers counterfeit branded alcohol brands in order to earn as much money as possible at a lower cost. And the buyer of such products will experience not only real disappointment after opening the bottle, but a severe hangover in the morning, poisoning or an allergic reaction.

Most often distinguish burnt alcohol from the present succeeds only after the bottle is opened and its contents tasted. In this case, it will be especially unpleasant if elite alcohol was presented as a present for the holiday.

Unfortunately, when buying alcoholic beverages, it is impossible to check the quality and taste of the drink, to evaluate its smell, so you have to trust the sellers' information. But before buying expensive alcoholic drinks, you should know that there are a large number of signs by which you can quickly and easily distinguish a fake even at the time of purchase and save your money and health.

When buying any alcohol, be sure to pay attention to the excise stamp, cost and label of the bottle, which will make it easy to recognize counterfeit:

• The label on the original is always glued evenly and neatly, while on counterfeit alcohol it is almost always crooked or oblique. Most expensive label alcoholic products feels similar to banknote. In addition, on it you can find all the information about the drink, and not a certain part of it.
• The excise stamp is glued to expensive alcohol at the same time along the side face of the cork and neck, because when you open the bottle, it should not be damaged.
• The cost of an elite, and most importantly, natural alcohol always high, so it is not recommended to pay attention to cheap goods, because original taste this drink does not belong.

There are some features of elite alcoholic beverages that you need to pay attention to.

Unfortunately, such an alcoholic product as vodka is most often counterfeited. In addition, a fake is often harmful to health, since it contains a large amount of poisonous oils.

We choose correctly:

Because luxury brands there is not so much wine, it is faked much less often.

The following tips will help you distinguish real alcohol from a fake:

There are several ways to find out if there are artificial colors in a drink:

1. You need to pour wine into a small vial, cover the neck with your finger, and then lower the vial into a bowl with a small amount pure water. After that, you need to take your finger and watch the reaction, if the wine dissolves - this is a fake.
2. You can try to put a few drops of wine on white chalk and wait a bit. If it changes color, it means that the drink contains dyes and other harmful additives; if the color remains the same, then there are no artificial additives in the wine.

When buying cognac, follow the following:

• When choosing cognac, it is important first of all to pay attention to the density of the drink and correctly distinguish it. You can do this simply by turning the bottle upside down and determining the density of the liquid - if immediately after the flip a large drop fell from the bottom, then the cognac is of high quality, and the drink is aged for at least 5 years.
• In a bottle filled to the top, it is easy to determine the density of cognac by the bubbles that form immediately after the bottle is turned over. If at first the bubbles are large, and then they begin to separate into small ones, then this drink is natural and of high quality.
• The original cognac is distinguished by soft and delicate taste and a light, pleasant fragrance. But the smell of alcohol when opening the bottle speaks of poor quality. The taste of vanilla, which is often drowned out by flavors added to the drink, can also tell about a fake.
• Checking product quality documents and excise stamps will also help you find out if it is real cognac or not.

Whiskey lovers need to know the following:

• The transparency of the drink notifies the buyer about the quality of the water from which the whiskey is made, and compliance with all technologies for the production of the product. Whiskey may have some shades, but it should not be thick, cloudy or have sediment or coating.
• Bubbles in a natural drink, when shaken, stay in the bottle for a long time and do not become small. In addition, they run down the walls of the bottle for quite a long time, while fake products instantly flow over the glass base.
• in original and quality drink there is a malt or oak aroma, while there is no smell of alcohol in the drink.

Cognac "Hennessy"

According to statistics, worldwide sales of this brandy significantly exceed the production of this alcoholic product. Therefore, at least 80% of the products are fake, while only 1 bottle out of 4 can be called natural. Such a drink is sold in bottles with a capacity of 0.35 and 0.7 liters. Otherwise, the product is considered counterfeit. If the cork does not tightly close the bottle, this indicates that the cognac is not factory-made. On the front side of the natural product, the manufacturer's corporate logo should be located - a hand with a halberd, which is not on the fake.

Whiskey Jameson

• On a natural bottle of this whiskey, there is a metal cork that is not coated.
• Also on the original there are two similar relief inscriptions at once. The first, "Product of Ireland", is located at the bottom under the label, while the second, "John Jameson", is located at the bottom of the back of the bottle.

Tequila "Olmeca"

• The cap on a bottle of real tequila is smooth.
• For the whole bottle original tequila"Olmeca" is characterized by uneven relief and if you run your hand over its surface, you can feel the roughness.
• Among the pattern on the label, you can see two circles located between the bends, while on the fake, instead of circles, an oval is drawn.

As you can see, distinguishing a fake from real alcohol is quite simple, especially if you know some of the nuances and secrets of choosing alcohol.