Connoisseurs of noble drinks should know how to check the quality of cognac, otherwise the evening in the company of friends or relatives will be ruined. This drink appeared in France, in the city of the same name. Today the market is flooded with thousands of clandestine factories, from where, under the guise of real noble drinks, cheap fakes are delivered to the shops, sometimes dangerous to health and even life. From the article you will learn several ways to verify the authenticity of cognac
Differences in the production of real and fake brandy
Real, high-quality cognac is produced as follows:
- Wine is prepared from white grapes, then it is distilled to get brandy alcohol.
- Pour the resulting material into an oak barrel, insist in it a drink of three years.
Thus, about 50 million bottles of the most popular Hennessy cognac are produced in the world per year, while more than 200 million of them are annually delivered to store shelves! And this is an example of only one brand. It turns out that there are only a quarter of genuine drinks from the entire assortment of store shelves, and then, there is hardly a store that will sell both genuine alcohol and fakes.
How are fakes made? Manufacturers are not too bothered by the observance of genuine technology, because then there would be no problem - you could buy real cognac too, only several times cheaper. How to check cognac, real connoisseurs of this drink know. But people who do not buy it so often will not even be able to distinguish a fake from the original to taste.
So, production at clandestine factories is as follows:
- In rare cases, brandy alcohol is taken, more often it is ordinary alcohol.
- Dilute the material with ordinary water to obtain 40-60 degrees.
- Add dyes and flavors that will make the buyer believe that they have real cognac.
Why is it important to know how to check cognac? The fact is that the alcohol used to make the fake, as well as dyes and flavors, can cause irreparable damage to human health. So that this does not happen and you don’t give hard-earned money for an expensive, but in fact a cheap drink, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the methods for identifying fakes.
Consistency
How to check cognac in the store before buying it? A careful study of the consistency of the liquid inside the bottle will help. Cognac, which was produced according to all the rules, does not have sediment at the bottom, its color is uniform. Sludge - these are departed dyes and flavors.
The color of the brandy will not tell you anything, since it varies from the age of the drink and the period of use of oak barrels.
This brandy is viscous, and therefore we offer to turn the bottle upside down.
If a drop of a large size fell from the bottom into the rest of the liquid, and cognac resembling oil began to crawl along the walls, then you can safely go to the cash register, you have a genuine drink in your hands.
If the bottle is generously filled under the neck, then you will not be able to consider a falling drop or a draining oily liquid. In this situation, pay attention to the bubbles. Again, turn the bottle upside down, and if you first went up large bubbles, and then small, then this will indicate good quality. No bubbles form in a fake drink , it happens that only one comes out, this is air from the neck area.
Consider the label
The first step is to check the brandy on the excise stamp. It should be made of quality material. The inscriptions on it should not be smeared, the print is accurate and even. The brand must be glued evenly and efficiently.
In the event that the check of cognac on the excise stamp was successful, examine and probe the label. Real manufacturers do not spare money on this "piece of paper." It feels like old paper to the touch; it will have bulges, like on money. The label should be glued symmetrically, there should not be any traces of glue on it.
All letters must be clearly spelled out on the label, stains and scuffs are not allowed. Pay attention to the manufacturer, the best cognacs are produced in France, in the Cognac province, or in our native Armenia.
What else to look for before buying?
Do not rush to go to the exit if, as it seemed to you, all the checks were successful. It is necessary to pay attention to a number of features:
- Real brandy, produced in accordance with all the rules, unlike counterfeit products, cannot be cheap. Do not look for a bottle for 300 rubles. Perhaps this is, but its contents are definitely not brandy.
- The bottle itself should be of an interesting shape, with bulges and indentations, the bottom is not even, it is always concave inward - these are additional protective touches from fakes.
- The label must necessarily contain the name of the factory where the drink was made.
- The longer the shutter speed, the higher the cost. Cognac aged 15 years can not cost the same or slightly more expensive than indicated on the price tag of a less aged drink.
- The lid shell should fit snugly against the neck, the presence of bubbles indicates packaging outside the factory, that is, it will be a fake.
Place of purchase and cost
To protect yourself from buying counterfeit products, do not go to small shops such as “Near the House” and “At Aunt Masha's”, but visit a trustworthy supermarket selling expensive, solid spirits. In those, you can ask the seller to provide a certificate confirming the authenticity of the products sold.
The high price is no reason to be embarrassed. Everyone will agree that a drink, for the production of one bottle of which was spent about five liters of quality white wine and several years, can not be cheap.
Do not look for a store where it is cheaper. Real drinks of elite varieties have about the same cost, but fake is much cheaper, about 30%.
Next, we propose moving to the question of how to check cognac at home.
Scent
If you were given cognac or you were unable to verify the authenticity of the drink in the store, then you can protect your health by identifying a fake by smell.
Pour a little drink into the snifter, twist along the walls. If, after a couple of minutes, the unpleasant smell of kerosene or even acetone hits your nose, then this is a fake.
Real cognac always changes aroma. First you smell the wood, then tobacco, then flowers or fruits.
Conclusion
Now you know how to check cognac, distinguishing real from fake. But the main thing here is to remember that the abuse of even such a noble alcoholic drink adversely affects human health.
Do not try to taste cognac in order to distinguish it from a fake. If you are confused by the label, the consistency and smell, then refuse even a small amount of cognac - health is much more important.