Analytical strategies to confirm Scotch whisky authenticity. Part II: Mobile brand authentication.

Whilst the authentication of Scotch whisky brands using laboratory based gas chromatography is well established, there is a need for authentication methods for use under field test conditions. The UV/visible absorbance spectra of specific brands of Scotch whisky were found to produce consistent absorbance ranges which allowed the development of a faster, cheaper and more mobile test method. Test samples with spectra outside the acceptable ranges for genuine reference samples were therefore deemed suspect, enabling their authenticity to be later confirmed in the laboratory by GC. This novel application allowed brand authenticity analyses to be undertaken at remote sites where gas chromatography was unavailable and has also allowed the introduction of field testing using a small portable hand held spectrophotometer.