Have you ever been FAKED?

It is unlikely that it was toxic as you appear to be fine.

That's too bad, but as @sengjc says, unlikely to be toxic. Could it just have been A'bunadh watered down? Obviously that would be criminal and inexcusable, but better than other alternatives.

I hope you receive a satisfactory explanation from the bar.

@systemdown

I doubt it was even A'Bunadh. It really had none of the characteristics of the expression. I'll post an update if/when I hear from the club/restaurant/bar

@Nozinan That's terrible. I hope you demanded a refund as well.

If I've ever been faked, I didn't know it. There are times when it was possible (like when I tried a Port Ellen in Glasgow last year), but I was at a pretty famous restaurant (The Ubiquitous Chip) and I doubt they'd pull a stunt like that.

@Nozinan i had a dram that was also not even close to the profile I should have recognized I returned it and told the bartender it had been watered down He did not take kindly to the comment and said there was no way that could have happened. I stated that unless he was with the bottle 24-7 that it could and had happened. He then stated that I should be drinking it as a mixer anyway!!! I switched to a sealed bottled beer and never returned.

@HeartlessNinny

I did ask for a refund, and I offered to bring in my bottle to show them how obviously fake it is.

This is a very prestigious club that I was at. Membership is far more expensive than I could afford even in my best earning years, and it's a century and a half old. But the bartender didn't seem to know much about Scotch. He was even surprised at how high the (what I thought was) modest price for the dram was.

I also told them that if they didn't respond to me by tomorrow evening (1 business day since the occurrence) I would call public health myself.

I guess in a way, this was a good experience, because it showed me how far I've come in my journey. I hope next time I'll have the confidence to bring the drink back to the bar.

@Nozinan: You might be better off contacting BBB. I've heard of cases where inferior liquor is placed in expensive bottles. Then they charge more for the liquor. If that's the case, it's fraud and a bar can lose its license or have it suspended.

@ Nozinan: It is also possible the club executive may not even be aware of bottle tampering (if it is happening). They have xx inventory. Pretty simple to transfer a lower priced product into a premium bottle. Empty bottle shows up on inventory. Original price is say 9.00 an oz. However, new price is 15.00 an oz. Cash balances and 6.00 per oz is pocketed. If this is the case, whomever is doing it is banking that the person ordering will not notice the difference.

One trick I've learned when I order a mixed drink is to ask for the coke, ginger ale, etc on the side. That way I know there is alcohol in the other glass

Got a reply today:

The bottle has been removed "from circulation" and will be investigated further. I was offered a refund.

They will contact the LCBO to see if there is a problem with this particular item. Apparently all their whiskies come from the LCBO and they only sell what they receive.

I replied that I was certain that this was not a problem with the manufactured product, but that the contents of the bottle were not what had originally been in there. I repeated that I was concerned about what the contents were and expected to be told what is discovered (out of concern for toxins).

Just a thought but you have no way of knowing how that bottle has been stored since 2009, I think people underestimate how much direct sunlight and heat can damage a whisky.

@Nozinan Well that's an interesting reply. Did you ever wind up hearing any more about this? I must admit I'm a little curious.

Hats off for the take away, though: the fact that your palate is sophisticated enough to spot a scam like this a mile off is praiseworthy indeed. Kudos!

@Nozinan, your story sounds more like employee pilfering to me than like malfeasance on the part of the management of the restaurant's bar. I would hate to be in your shoes, of course, but I would also hate to be in the shoes of the management of the restaurant trying to figure out who among their staff might be replacing quality spirits with some other undetermined liquid and endangering the restaurant's reputation in the process.

@HeartlessNinny

I haven't heard back. I figured I would give them a week and then check on progress. I agree with @victor that there's likely a switch going on, and as much as I would like to think there's an innocent explanation, I can't think of one.

I'll report back if I get any news.

@Nozinan. I think Victor is right. I've been told by insiders that switching or watering of high end spirits is a common employee scam. Sounds like the A'bunadh went home with someone after being replaced by something inferior. Keep us posted and perhaps mention this possibility to the bar owners.

Well, I was pickpocketed on Monday night, does that count? A small waif of a girl reached into my front pocket without my knowledge on a stair well. I felt a slight brush on my upper thigh but it wasn't until I got down the stairs that I thought to feel for my wallet, which I always put in my front pocket in crowds. Boy, these days it takes a lot of work to replace and cancel things. The far reaching repercussions have taken up a lot of time, including things like automatic check deposits from work, driver's license, AAA card, and three credit cards, including a debit card. There was a blank check in there as well, so I had to change my bank account number. I certainly felt duped, if not faked on Monday night. A burglar snuck into my flat in NYC in 1992 and stole a bunch of stuff while I was sleeping. He had picked the lock on my front door! That gave me a touch of PTSD that has never quite gone away. He took an expensive watch and my wallet both of which were on the night stand next to me in my bedroom while I was sleeping. This past Monday night took me back to the feelings I felt in 1992. Most upsetting.

@rigmorole

Sorry to hear about your recent theft. Our car was stolen a year ago from our driveway, in a snowstorm, overnight. My son still asks why the bad people had to steal our car, which he misses. We still occasionally realize that there was something in the car that is now gone, like a kids' CD or umbrella.

I will contact the club and ask them for an update. Still waiting for my refund...

@rigmorole That's terrible. I hope you didn't lose too much cash or anything.

@rigmorole very sorry to hear about the theft of your wallet and personnel effects. I can only imagine the number of phone calls and replacement documents you need for resolution. I hope you get everything sorted out expeditiously. I appreciate your writing and passionate dialogue on whisky! It is noted!

@Nozinan, I hope you get some resolution. I tend to agree with @victor and think it was employee pilfering. I keep a stock of various spirits in 3 locations around the world, while I have never personally had my stocks tampered with by anyone but my father:); I have friends who had employees enjoy fine times with excellent single malts that were replaced by diluted cane juice.

If it makes you feel any better, I plan on donating two bottles of unopened Aberlour A'bundnah 38 to whisky drinking friends in Monrovia before a likely affectation to Guinea in the next couple of months.

@NAV26 How do employees put cane juice into the bottle that was formerly sealed? Through a hole drilled in the bottom? I can't think of any other way that could happen. I always check the bottoms of bottles before I buy. I was told by a store clerk that that had happened a few times over the years. I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to be looking for, however. How would the hole be filled in? With caulking or something?

@Nozinan There's a bar in town here that regularly dilutes scotch. I don't go there any longer. Diluting happens more than you would think, but switching? That's really hardcore. I was furious when I realized that the cocktail bar on SE Stark in Montevilla was watering down fancy scotches. I even think a Pappy's or two were watered down. Very shady owner there. I was robbed plain and simple by that bar on more than one occasion. The last time I went back when I ordered a Macallan Cask Strength I was dead certain it had been watered down. But what can you say? The owner is more or less a thug type. I just didn't realize how much until that moment.

@rigmorole, no nothing that complicated. These were a friends opened bottles. His housekeeper developed a taste for single malt while he was on vacation. When he came back he had some diluted bottles and others with cane juice added.

My father like tampering with my ryes and bourbons that I store back in the US:) This is just fine with me as I think he really appreciates most of them.

@rigmorole @rigmorole Sad to hear about that. I lost my wallet this year at the Linköping whiskyfair. On the way home in a cab. also a lot of work. But i was also a bit drunk. To much free whisky by my friends in the whiskyindustry.

@NAV26

Is your father "tampering" or just sampling? Tampering, the way I would define it, would be trying to cover your tracks by refilling the bottles....

@Nozinan, well that depends a bit on how you define tampering. He does make manhattans and cocktails with some portion of the bottles of them which borders on tampering for me.

@NAV26

Fair enough