Explorer

The $10000-a-dram 'vintage Scotch' that turned out to be fake

Washington D.C. [USA], Nov 4 (ANI): A bottle of Scotch whisky, which was thought to be so rare that a popular Chinese writer shelled out more than $10,000 for just a dram, has turned out to be fake.

Writer Zhang Wei bought a peg from the unopened bottle of "Macallan 1878" for the five-figure sum at a Swiss hotel because for him, it was more than Scotch; it was a piece of history, The Washington Post reported.

Later, Zhang took to Weibo, a Chinese microblogging platform similar to Twitter, to describe his experience, saying the whisky "had a good taste." He stressed, though, that, "It's not just the taste, but also history."

However, whisky experts smelled a rat after news of the sale broke, after which Manager Sandro Bernasconi of The Waldhaus Hotel in St Moritz hired investigators to examine the $350,000 bottle.

Andy Simpson, the company's co-founder, organised a test and found the high-end grog bottle was filled with a blended whisky, probably distilled between 1970 and 1972 - about a century from the dram of history Zhang Wei thought he had purchased.

Carbon dating by the Oxford University researchers further showed that the near-worthless blended Scotch dated no earlier than 1970 - a hundred years younger than it was claimed.

The bottle turned out to be "almost worthless as a collector's item."

Bernasconi flew to China to apologise and personally pay back the dosh.

"He thanked me very much for the hotel's honesty and said his experience in Switzerland had been good," Bernasconi stated.

(ANI)


This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI

View More
Advertisement
Advertisement
25°C
New Delhi
Rain: 100mm
Humidity: 97%
Wind: WNW 47km/h
See Today's Weather
powered by
Accu Weather
Advertisement

Top Headline

Kejriwal To Stay Delhi CM From Jail As High Court Finds 'No Legal Bar,' Ball In LG's Court Now
Kejriwal To Stay Delhi CM From Jail As High Court Finds 'No Legal Bar,' Ball In LG's Court Now
Arvind Kejriwal Blasts ED, Tells Court Money Trail Is Sarath Reddy Giving 50 Cr To BJP After Arrest
Arvind Kejriwal Blasts ED, Tells Court Money Trail Is Sarath Reddy Giving 50 Cr To BJP After Arrest
Another Setback For Congress As Delhi HC Rejects Plea Against Income Tax Case
Another Setback For Congress As Delhi HC Rejects Plea Against Income Tax Case
ED Raids Relative Of Arvind Kejriwal's Wife In Old FEMA Case
ED Raids Relative Of Arvind Kejriwal's Wife In Old FEMA Case
Advertisement
for smartphones
and tablets

Videos

Bihar Lok Sabha Polls 2024: ABP Exclusive With Papu Yadav, MP No Longer Contesting From PurniaVarun Gandhi Pens Emotional Letter To Pilibhit After Being Denied, Says 'Mai Aapka Hu Aur Rahunga'Delhi Excise Policy Case: With CM Arvind Kejriwal's Arrest, Who Will Run The State | Watch ReportLok Sabha Elections 2024: 'BJP Just Wants To Break The Aam Aadmi Party' says Saurabh Bhardwaj
Embed widget