UC Davis Research Helps Counter Whiskey Fraud
DAVIS (CBS13) — Researchers at UC Davis are sipping whiskey to save you money by coming up with a way to identify counterfeit booze.
Whiskey whets the whistle at de Vere's Irish Pub, where there are 190 labels on the wall, with a selection that's constantly growing.
"Well I think whiskey has become like wine now. Everyone wants to taste them, and as their palate grows they want to diversify what they experience," Henry de Vere White.
For those who toast and tip back the glass, they swear there's no better way to end your day than with a taste-bud tickle with a kick.
"It's a stronger alcohol, and has a very good bite to it, and this particular one—Fireball—it has a cinnamon taste to it, so it's pretty good on cold winter nights," said Alec Prinze.
Or warm summer evenings. And these casual drinkers in Sacramento aren't drinking alone.
Miles away on the campus of UC Davis, the whiskey glass is more than half full after researchers conducted a groundbreaking new study.
"I'd love to see the research."
Glad you asked. In part, the sipping scientists have developed chemical fingerprints for 60 American whiskeys, providing distinct chemical signatures.
Translation: The research will help discourage and detect counterfeit and fraud, especially for those expensive whiskeys.
Cheers to that, say whiskey buyers and drinkers.
"I don't want my whiskey being diluted by any means, so it keeps them honest, and so i'm all about it."
"Come sit at the bar any night of the week, and you'll see everyone wants to try an Irish whiskey, a bourbon, or a scotch, so any research on whiskey I think is well placed in this current market."
So just as whiskey warms the gullet, these findings comfort the whiskey drinker with peace of mind, knowing because of this research, they're sipping the real deal whenever they belly up to the bar.
The chemical profiling done by UC Davis could also speed up the production of some whiskeys.
