A team of three Indian researchers in Scotland have designed a laser test to identify fake whisky from genuine Scotch malt.
Praveen Ashok, Kishan Dholakia and Bavishna Praveen, physicists at St Andrews University, Scotland's first university founded six centuries ago, said their test has made possible the development of a hand-held device that could test counterfeit drinks and deliver authoritative results within seconds, The Telegraph newspaper reported.
In the report published in the scientific journal Optics Express, the Indian researchers said the test could also establish the origin, cask type and age of a whisky -- a skill few human palettes have mastered.
The device fires a micro-laser beam through a tiny drop of the suspect Scotch to establish its alcohol content and colour clarity.
The daily said their invention could save distilleries and bars millions of pounds in Asia, "where counterfeit whisky is big business" but knowledge of single malts is rare.
"Police in India and other Asian countries regularly uncover fake whisky rackets in which organised gangs buy empty bottles, print their own labels, and mix genuine Scotch with cheap local whiskies, or even whisky-flavoured rums, to pass them off as aged single malts," it said.
The report said they have established the exact alcohol levels of several different whiskies of various ages, including Highland whiskies like Glenmorangie, Speysides like Macallan and peaty Islay drams like Ardbeg to compare them with potential impostors.
--Indo-Asian News Service
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