Posted on 05/02/2009 11:45:37 PM PDT by Schnucki
Radioactive material flung into the atmosphere by nuclear bomb tests is helping scientists to fight the multi-million pound trade in counterfeit antique malt whisky.
Bottles of vintage whisky can sell for thousands of pounds each, but industry experts claim the market has been flooded with fakes that purport to be several hundred years old but instead contain worthless spirit that was made just a few years ago.
Scientists have found, however, that minute levels of radioactive carbon absorbed by the barley as it grew before it was harvested to make the whisky can betray how old it is.
Researchers at the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, which is funded by the National Environmental Research Council, discovered that they could pinpoint the date a whisky was made by detecting traces of radioactive particles created by nuclear bomb tests in the 1950s.
They can also use natural background levels of radioactivity to identify whiskies that were made in earlier centuries.
Dr Tom Higham, deputy director of the Oxford Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit, said: "It is easy to tell if whisky is fake as if it has been produced since the middle of the twentieth century, it has a very distinctive signature.
"With whiskies that are older, we can get a range of dates but we can usually tell which century it came from. The earliest whisky we have dated came from the 1700s and most have been from 19th century.
"So far there have probably been more fakes among the samples we've tested than real examples of old whisky."
The technique the scientists use is known as radiocarbon dating and is more commonly used by archaeologists to date ancient fragments of bone and wood.
It relies upon the fact that all living organisms absorb low levels of a radioactive isotope known as carbon 14,
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
|
|
|||
Gods |
Okay, so, this probably isn't pingworthy for GGG -- still, it's about radiocarbon dating, and I think I got a whiff of booze on someone's breath when I signed on this morning, so...Scientists have found, however, that minute levels of radioactive carbon absorbed by the barley as it grew before it was harvested to make the whisky can betray how old it is.Thanks sionnsar! |
||
|
· Discover · Nat Geographic · Texas AM Anthro News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · Google · · The Archaeology Channel · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists · |
|||
goodness
Now who said Nuclear Weapons were bad for mankind?
Ahh... the water of life.
;-)
ping
Now my cognac is sort of up there in the medium price range as it is not mixable with anything I like or could make.
Good to hear from you Nully.
Cheers
For a good Canadian, I highly recommend Forty Creek as the best bang for your buck.
A number of 20th century art forgers were motivated not by the money, but to make asses out of the critics and collectors.
Makes me stupid.
I quit drinking bourbon when Maker’s Mark quit making their black label.
So, ladies and gents, you can quit telling everyone you’re still 69. Science can prove otherwise.
Thanks. I don’t drink, but I was curious.
Jack Daniels is NOT, I repeat NOT a Bourbon.
Thanks for the post. Now I can assure my wife my Scotch sipping is all for scientific research!
Me too!
Good thing I found some decent wines. :-)
This for all you barrel lickers out there;
“Woodford Reserve Personal Selection Program
The Woodford Reserve distillery takes a number of Bluegrass State traditions and wraps them into one. (They are, after all, the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby.) Through their Personal Selection Program, bourbon drinkers take a pilgrimage to the distillery, which is set amid bucolic rolling hills. Driving along the winding roads, you’ll spot far more horses than humans. The Woodford Reserve program is distinct because instead of selecting a single barrel bourbon to be bottled, you select from ten casks, each of which has a distinct flavor profile. Your final spirit will be a blend of two. It’s a tricky process, but don’t worry: master distiller Chris Morris will guide you—and your palate—the whole way. “You go to the auto dealership and say ‘I want that red car,’” Chris explained to us. “What we allow you to do is go to the auto factory and pick out your engine, your transmission, your upholstery. We pick barrels that represent the five bourbon flavors—sweet aromatics, wood, grain, fruit and spice, so we have this whole array of flavors and we sit down and taste and rate each barrel.”
Uisge beatha, gu dearbh. (Whiskey, indeed)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.