How to distinguish singed alcohol. How to distinguish fake alcohol from real alcohol by external signs? How to recognize methyl alcohol

10.11.2019

On the eve of the coming New Year, sales of alcoholic beverages are sharply increasing. Unscrupulous businessmen take advantage of this and are actively throwing counterfeit alcoholic products into the market, so take note of this informational article.

What is dangerous fake alcohol?

Counterfeit alcohol may contain methanol - methyl alcohol, or wood alcohol. It is also called technical, it is a terrible poison, and it is from it that people die or become disabled.
As is the case with regular ethyl alcohol, once it enters the bloodstream, methyl alcohol passes through the liver, where, like its safer cousin, it undergoes oxidation by an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). If it were not for this chemical reaction, technical alcohol would not carry any danger: by itself, it does not have high toxicity. Therefore, the first thing that a person who has drunk such alcohol feels is the usual symptoms of intoxication.
However, under the influence of ADH, methanol is converted into formaldehyde and formic acid. These products are extremely harmful to health: they damage the central nervous system, in particular - the retina and optic nerve, leading to blindness and severe poisoning with the failure of the kidneys and other internal organs.

Where can you buy alcohol?

in the Russian Federation, only organizations can sell alcohol, but not individuals. Low alcohol drinks - beer, cider, mead can be sold by both companies and individual entrepreneurs. You can buy alcohol only at outlets licensed to retail alcoholic beverages. A copy of the license must be prominently displayed in the Consumer's Corner. When selling a drink along with a bottle, you must be given a receipt. Any trade in alcohol by hand or through an online store is illegal.

How to spot fake alcohol?

As a rule, legal producers pour alcoholic beverages into consumer containers with special distinctive features (original corrugations, embossing, etc.). The label and the back label must be applied evenly without distortion.

All alcoholic beverages produced on the territory of the customs union are pasted over with federal special stamps, and imported alcoholic beverages are pasted over with excise stamps. Such marking confirms the payment of excise duty on each bottle of alcoholic beverages produced.

For visual recognition of the authenticity of such brands, you can use the following recommendations:
1. They are printed on self-adhesive paper, which has a special radiation under the influence of ultraviolet radiation;
2. Copper holographic foil with a pattern and repeating images of the Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation and the abbreviation "RF" is pressed onto the paper for printing excise stamps;
3. A security thread with an irregular window is inserted into the paper. In the window you can see the image applied to the thread in the form of pink stripes. Under the influence of ultraviolet light, the image is visualized in the form of the abbreviation "RF" in pink, blue and yellow-orange colors in an oval ring;
4. On the reverse side of the stamps the abbreviation "RF" is stuffed;
5. Element printed with variable ink changes color from purple to brown depending on the angle of view;
6. The stamp number is printed by inkjet printing and consists of three digits indicating the category and nine digits of the stamp number itself;
7. The information on the brand and label of the bottle must match. Here are the name of the alcoholic beverages, the type of alcoholic beverages, container capacity, strength, the name of the manufacturer and its location.

QR codes will allow each buyer to check the legality of alcohol

On July 1 of this year, new rules for the retail sale of alcoholic beverages came into force in the Russian Federation: each bottle sold will be registered in a special database, and the QR code on the check will allow the buyer to track the history of the production and sale of purchased alcohol. But market participants are skeptical about the federal government's innovation.

The history of the existence of the unified state automated information system (EGAIS) begins in 2006, when the producers of alcoholic beverages were obliged to register their products in it. In 2015, wholesalers were connected to EGAIS, who began to record goods purchased from manufacturers in the system. And from the middle of this year, the final link - the buyer in the store - will be "connected" to the PRODUCER-BUYER chain. Thus, the state, represented by the Federal Service for the Regulation of the Alcohol Market, will be able to control the entire chain of movement of goods from production to sale.

The technical side of the process looks like this:

Image is clickable

The cashier must have a scanner at the checkout that can read the necessary information from a special or excise stamp. After scanning, it is processed by the cash register module of EGAIS and, with an electronic digital signature, is transferred to the server of Rosalkogolregulirovanie. Thus, accounting is carried out online.

The sequence of actions of the cashier will look like this:

Image is clickable

The buyer brings to the checkout products, among which there is alcohol;
The cashier reads the barcode of the product;
When reading the code of an alcoholic product, the cashier will have to read another barcode from the bottle (or box);
Upon successful reading, the product is added to the receipt, otherwise the sale of this product is canceled;
The cash register software generates a special file and sends it to the EGAIS data server;
The receipt closes with the seal of the alcoholic beverages slip and the buyer, having read the QR code from the alcoholic beverages slip, can check its legality.

This is how a slide with a QR code looks like:

Image is clickable

If, when reading the barcode during the sale, the server does not form a slip, then it will not work to buy alcohol: either the sticker with the barcode is unreadable, or the product is counterfeit.

How to understand that you have been poisoned by a surrogate?

The insidiousness of methanol intoxication lies in the fact that its first symptoms are too similar to the consequences of ordinary drunkenness: a person may complain of dizziness, nausea, and severe weakness.
However, other warning signs develop over the course of several hours. It can be:
- severe pain throughout the body;
- deterioration of vision, in which the picture in front of the eyes can float and vague dancing spots appear;
- slowing down of heartbeat and breathing;
- a coma in which a drunk person does not respond to external stimuli and does not wake up.
Such symptoms are a sign of great trouble. If you suspect methanol poisoning, you need to urgently call an ambulance and start providing first aid yourself.

First aid for alcohol poisoning

First of all, having discovered alcohol poisoning in a person, it is necessary to call emergency help. Her waiting time should not be wasted. It is necessary to take a number of necessary measures to alleviate the patient's condition and try to remove some of the poisons from the body.

The most effective first aid is to flush the patient's stomach. For this, the victim is induced to vomit. The patient should drink soda solution or boiled water with the addition of potassium permanganate. It is necessary to help him by irritating the tongue with a finger or a spoon. Extreme care should be taken so that the patient's vomit does not enter his respiratory tract, causing suffocation. It is necessary to give his body a horizontal position and turn his head to one side. Induction of vomiting prevents further absorption of alcoholic toxins into the bloodstream, and prevents the development of coma from a pre-coma state;

While holding the patient's tongue, mucus should be collected from his tongue and oral cavity with the help of a medical pear;

First aid may include drinking plenty of fluids for the patient. However, treatment in this way is not always appropriate, in case of respiratory and swallowing reflex disorders, the victim may choke with liquid;

If the patient's breathing stops, it is necessary to undertake resuscitation treatment by cleaning the oral cavity and performing artificial respiration. When the pulse slows down, the patient should be injected with cordiamine under the skin;

In case of loss of consciousness, it is necessary to ensure immediate blood flow to the vessels of the brain. To do this, you should quickly and intensively grind the patient's auricles;

Alcohol poisoning leads to excessive vasodilation in the victim. Heat leaves the body very quickly. Therefore, when providing assistance, you need to wrap the patient in a warm blanket or put on warm woolen clothes;

To stimulate the heart, first aid may include chest compressions. If a person does not know how to properly perform massage manipulations, you should massage the tip of the nose, the areas under it and the lower lip. Irritation of active points stimulates cardiac activity and respiration;

First aid for alcohol poisoning must be accompanied by oxygen supply for the patient. It is necessary to loosen the tightening clothing, unbutton the collar, and also ensure the ventilation of the room, even in winter. If possible, it is better to move the patient to fresh air;

Alcohol poisoning implies severe intoxication of the body. Therefore, first aid at home must be followed by treatment in a hospital setting in order to thoroughly cleanse the patient's body of toxins and poisons that poison vital organs. Outpatient treatment can consist of a set of measures aimed at detoxifying the body, in severe cases, after the patient is transferred to the hospital, resuscitation measures follow.

How can you tell fake alcohol from real? Here are some simple ways:

Before reading the information below, remember the most important thing when buying alcohol - SAVE YOUR PURCHASE CHECK!

If you buy champagne

You can tell what is in front of you - soda with alcohol or real sparkling wine (champagne) by the bubbles. Throw something into the champagne glass, such as a cherry. If it instantly becomes covered with small and frequent bubbles - this is real champagne in front of you. If the bubbles are large and rare, they will quickly float to the surface - in front of you is a fake. By the way, any object thrown into a bottle of soda is covered with just such bubbles.

If you buy vodka

1. Price. The minimum retail price for vodka was increased from June 13, 2016 to 190 rubles per 0.5 liter. Accordingly, if the capacity of a bottle with vodka is one liter, then the price is twice as expensive. If you prefer a certain brand of vodka, then you should know the average price of a bottle. If in one of the stores the price is 15-30 percent lower and there is no valid promotion, then the risk of buying there fake vodka increases several times. The cost of one and the same vodka in different stores cannot be very different.
At the same time, it should be noted that earlier it was the low price that gave out fake vodka, but now the counterfeiters have grown wiser and in most cases sell their surrogate at the price of the original.

2. Color. Real vodka absolutely transparent without turbidity and sediment at the bottom. To check this, just turn the bottle upside down, hold it for a few seconds and look through it at the sunlight. Vodka should be free of foreign particles, orange, light yellow and other shades. If the color changes, then you have poorly purified vodka, alcohol or water of which contains foreign impurities.

3. Pay attention to the sticker of the excise stamp. (This is stated above). Rotating the cork damages this sticker. If the mark is easily removed or bends without any problems, without leaving any marks on the bottle, then you are most likely either a fake or the products of an enterprise that does not comply with the technology.

4. Give preference to well-known firms and brands.

5. Do not buy vodka off hand. Buy alcohol from specialty stores or well-known large hypermarkets.

6. The plug should not rotate freely.

7. If you have doubts about the quality of the product, ask for a certificate of conformity and quality assurance.

8. If you buy imported vodka, make sure that the series and numbers of the excise duty stamp, which is pasted on the bottle, match the series and numbers in the certificate of conformity. Moreover, the glass of such vodka must be laser-marked (numbers and letters printed with small black dots). The markings cannot be erased.

9. Pay attention to the label. It must indicate the date of manufacture of the product, the company code and the production license number. Moreover, branded labels are glued evenly. On fakes, these rules are not followed.

10. Turn the bottle over and shake it in a circular motion. A "snake" should appear, which is formed by small bubbles. If, at the same time, the bubbles are large and quickly disappear, it is safe to assume that this is a fake.

11. Pay attention if there is a whitish residue on the glass of the bottle. If a precipitate is present, this indicates that the alcohol is diluted with plain water.

12. There is an opinion that industrial vodka leaves a mark. To do this, scroll the bottom of the bottle in the palm of your hand. Remains a trace of the conveyor.

If you buy wine

Warnings about the need to check the labeling with excise duty stamps and the availability of documents certifying the quality of alcoholic beverages are also valid for wine.

1. If you buy collectible wines, check for additional labels with the indication "Collectible, additionally aged", etc. As a rule, a necklace is glued to the neck of the bottle indicating the vintage of the grapes from which the wine is made.

2. In case the wine is controlled by the origin of the names, the bottle will bear the inscription “Wine of the controlled by the origin of the names”, and the back labels will schematically depict the territory of the region where the wine was made, with the designation of the vineyards.

Another very important point: many flavors that are clearly present in the wine (spoiled, with off-flavors, etc.) can be masked by adding sugar. As a result, the wine will taste sweet or very sweet. This is often the case in sparkling (champagne) or sparkling (carbonated) wines.
Therefore, if you really want to enjoy good wine, you should opt for dry or semi-dry drinks.

3. Pay attention to the quality of the cork. If the cork crumbles when screwing in the corkscrew, it is most likely expired. This means that the quality of the wine is not so important to the producer. Only the amount of money earned matters. If you have a receipt, you can return this wine.

4. Don't buy wine at a suspiciously low price.
Very often fruit and berry and indeed any other flavored wines contain special preservatives (additives) of artificial origin, which are harmful.
In order to determine whether artificial colors have been added to the wine, you can use one of the simplest methods:
-Pour wine into a small bottle, close the neck with your finger, then dip it into a container of clean water and remove your finger. Real wine will not dissolve in water. If this happened, you are in front of a fake.

There is also another way. Take ordinary chalk and put a few drops of wine on it. Wait a little. If, after drying, the stain becomes light, it means that the wine is without artificial colors... If it turns into any other color, then the dyes are present.

If you buy cognac

1. You already know about the check of excise stamps and the availability of quality documents.

2. Pay attention to the density of the cognac.
Turn the bottle upside down. If the cognac is expensive and of high quality, a heavy drop should fall from the bottom of the bottle, and traces of runoff will remain on the walls. Counterfeit or poor quality cognac will run down the walls very quickly.

After purchase, the quality of cognac can be checked in the following ways:
-Pour the cognac into a special glass (snifter). Place your finger on the outside of the wall and see if your fingerprints are still there. If so, it's safe to say that this is an authentic drink.
-The taste of vanilla, present in cognac, can often indicate its fake, because they are often masked by the flavorings added to cognac.

3. Remarkably, Hennesy XO cognac is not produced in a volume of 0.5 liters (only 0.35 and 0.7).
It is even rumored that the sales of this type of cognac in the world exceed its production by three to four times. In other words, only every third or fourth Hennessy bottle is original. Everything else (about 80 percent) is fake.

If you buy whiskey

1. Good whiskey cannot be cheap.

2. Pay attention to the appearance of the bottle. For example, a sign of counterfeit Jameson whiskey is: the lack of embossed lettering on the bottle, as well as a plastic shell on the lid.
You may also come across an incorrectly pasted or poor quality label. Incorrect lettering on the covers.

3. High-quality whiskey is always transparent (this indicates the purity of the water and compliance with the production technology) and does not contain sediment.

4. Shake the whiskey well and look for bubbles. They must hold on for a long time and be large.

Unfortunately, very often a fake from the original can be distinguished only after purchasing the product. So, if the whiskey reeks of alcohol and does not have its characteristic light oak or malt aroma, this is a fake.

How to distinguish common alcohol from technical alcohol?

In some cases, it is possible to identify low-quality alcohol only after the bottle is opened. How to distinguish an alcoholic surrogate?

Methyl alcohol does not differ in appearance and smell from ordinary ethyl alcohol, so the main protection against poisoning is buying drinks in trusted places.
If, for some reason, you suspect that the alcohol is fake, try checking it at home:
- if you set fire to a strong drink based on ethyl alcohol, then it should burn with a blue flame, while burning methanol is green;
-if the drink is transparent - throw a small piece into the bottle raw potatoes: in industrial alcohol, it will acquire a pink tint, and in high-quality vodka it will remain white;
- if you heat a copper wire on a fire and lower it into a liquid, then methanol will give itself out with an unpleasant pungent smell of formaldehyde, ethanol does not smell at all during the test.

Of course, it would be most reasonable to refuse the tasting in any doubtful case, even if chemical experiments did not reveal anything suspicious.

The Site Administration reminds that excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages is harmful to your health.
This resource does not promote alcohol consumption.

No questionable shops and supernumerary stalls. Buy alcohol from retail chains that monitor reputation and carefully select suppliers. Roughly speaking, if there are expired goods on the shelves in the supermarket, then alcohol should be chosen there with particular pickiness.

When buying alcohol, you should always be given a check, and ideally, ask for a passport, even if you have not looked like a schoolboy for a long time.

Price

A very good thing is not cheap. If you are offered an aged French cognac for 800 rubles, there is something wrong. If you want to buy an expensive one, first look at how much it costs, compare prices on the Internet, do not run for a good price.

It is not interesting to counterfeit absolutely cheap alcohol of unremarked brands, it is more likely that it will initially be of poor quality. So grab good drinks after checking the authenticity.

Bottle

Branded alcohol is poured into special bottles with an unusual shape, edges on the neck, and embossed inscriptions. If you want to buy alcohol of a specific well-known brand, try to find the manufacturer's website and evaluate how the bottle differs from any other.

Pay attention to:

Cover material. Made of plastic, metal or cork, whether the lid is wrapped or not, flat or embossed, flat or convex. The lid of good alcohol does not scroll, does not flow. On the lids of vodka bottles there is a number by which the bottle can be checked for authenticity on the manufacturer's website.
Neck shape. Long or short, with or without edges. A dispenser bottle is a sign that it was made in a factory and not underground.
Bottle shape. Pay attention to the curves, bottle shoulders, bottom contours.
Embossed inscriptions and images. On expensive alcohol, there are often inscriptions with the name of the drink, symbols of a trading house, and other designations. On fakes, these inscriptions either do not repeat at all, or they do not reproduce everything, or they confuse the place of application.

Excise stamp

The excise stamp is printed on special paper with colored fibers, all numbers and codes on it are clear, clearly visible and legible. The stamp must be glued absolutely evenly.

Excise stamps should be checked by organizations that have a license to trade in alcohol. For you and me there is the service of the Unified Social Portal of the alcohol market.

Enter the numbers from the excise stamp and check if the brand matches the product. The service works in test mode, that is, apparently, its data does not always correspond to reality. However, we have tested five bottles produced and purchased in different locations, and they all passed the test.

Label

A quality alcohol label is made on good paper, often with embossed or intricate elements.

If you are looking for a specific brand, compare the order in which the information should appear on the label. On branded products, all labels repeat the pattern, and product names are accompanied by a registered trademark icon.

Be sure to indicate the address of the manufacturer (legal and place of production), composition, there must be references to regulatory documents.

Bottle contents

This can help if you are buying alcohol in a clear glass bottle and you know what the desired drink looks like.

Cognac, if you turn the bottle over, leaves oily streaks on the glass. They are called cognac legs.
Good whiskey behaves the same way. It must be remembered that whiskey is a transparent drink, there should be no sediment and flakes there.
Vodka - only clear, no sediment.

But by the appearance of the drink, one can distinguish only a completely artisanal fake.

Here we are only talking about fakes, and sometimes there is also just low-quality alcohol, for example, wine made from a mixture of alcohol with dyes and flavors. Only reading the label with the composition will help here, an indication of the GOSTs according to which alcohol is made. And your feelings. If you have opened a bottle and it seems to you that something is wrong, do not finish drinking and do not check. It is better to lose money than health.

The Most Effective Way to Protect Against Bad Alcohol

They know how to counterfeit everything, including excise stamps. Therefore, the most effective method protection against bad alcohol - the choice of the place of purchase and alcohol, which you can check on the manufacturer's website.

How to recognize methyl alcohol

No way. Although there are recipes for determining methanol.

Dip a heated copper wire into alcohol, for example. When methanol reacts with copper, it will release formaldehyde, and you will smell a pungent smell. Ethanol doesn't behave like that. But ethanol will smell too, albeit not so disgusting. There is also an option with the ignition of alcohol and the identification of the shade of the flame (methanol burns greenish).

These methods work when you are comparing two pure spirits. And methanol can be added to alcohol in different proportions, diluted and mixed with dyes, flavors and ethanol.

Symptoms of methyl alcohol poisoning

At first, methanol poisoning does not differ from alcohol poisoning: dizziness, nausea, headache. Then there are warning signs:

Pain throughout the body.
Loss of vision.
Dyspnea.
Cardiopalmus.

What to do to avoid methanol poisoning

Drink only alcohol from trusted places and only high quality.
Never get drunk to such a state that you miss the first signs of poisoning, that is, until you lose your footing and nausea.
In case of symptoms of poisoning, urgently call an ambulance and get to the doctors.
Before the arrival of doctors, provide first aid for.

Although regular ethanol can help inhibit industrial alcohol poisoning, do not self-medicate with alcohol.

On the eve of the coming New Year, sales of alcoholic beverages are sharply increasing. This is used by unscrupulous businessmen and are actively throwing counterfeit alcoholic products into the market.

The Department of Licensing and Trade of the Primorsky Territory gives several tips on how to protect yourself from the purchase of illegal and low-quality alcoholic beverages.

Why is counterfeit alcohol dangerous?

Counterfeit alcohol may contain methanol - methyl alcohol, or wood alcohol. It is also called technical, it is a terrible poison, and it is from it that people die or become disabled.

As with ordinary ethyl alcohol, once it enters the bloodstream, the methyl alcohol passes through the liver, where, like its safer cousin for life, it is oxidized by an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). If it were not for this chemical reaction, technical alcohol would not carry any danger: by itself, it does not have high toxicity. Therefore, the first thing that a person who has drunk such alcohol feels is the usual symptoms of intoxication.

However, under the influence of ADH, methanol is converted into formaldehyde and formic acid. These products are extremely harmful to health: they damage the central nervous system, in particular - the retina and optic nerve, leading to blindness and severe poisoning with the failure of the kidneys and other internal organs.

Where can you buy alcohol?

Only organizations can sell alcohol, not individuals. Low alcohol drinks - beer, cider, mead can be sold by both companies and individual entrepreneurs. You can buy alcohol only at outlets licensed to retail alcoholic beverages. A copy of the license must be prominently displayed in the Consumer's Corner. When selling a drink along with a bottle, you must be given a receipt. Any trade in alcohol by hand or through an online store is illegal.

How to distinguish fake alcohol by bottle or label?

How to distinguish fake alcohol by a federal special stamp or excise stamp?

For visual recognition of the authenticity of such brands, you can use the following recommendations:

They are printed on self-adhesive paper, which has a special radiation under the influence of ultraviolet radiation;
Copper holographic foil with a pattern and repeating images of the Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation and the abbreviation "RF" is pressed onto the paper for printing excise stamps for alcohol in 2014;
A security thread with an irregular window is inserted into the paper. In the window you can see the image applied to the thread in the form of pink stripes. Under the influence of ultraviolet light, the image is visualized in the form of the abbreviation "RF" in pink, blue and yellow-orange colors in an oval ring;
On the reverse side of the stamps the abbreviation "RF" is stuffed;
An element printed with variable ink changes color from purple to brown depending on the angle of view;
The stamp number is printed by inkjet printing and consists of three digits indicating the category and nine digits of the stamp number itself;
The information on the brand and label of the bottle must match. Here are the name of the alcoholic beverages, the type of alcoholic beverages, container capacity, strength, the name of the manufacturer and its location.

How to identify fake champagne?

How to identify counterfeit vodka?

It will be about checking the appearance of the drink before purchasing it. There are signs that should motivate you to choose another vodka or even a store.

Price. As of December 2015, in accordance with the order of Rosalkogolregulirovanie, a bottle of vodka with a capacity of 0.5 liters with an ethyl alcohol content of 40 percent must be sold in retail at least 195 rubles per bottle. Accordingly, if the capacity of a bottle with vodka is one liter, then the price is twice as expensive. If you prefer a certain brand of vodka, then you should know the average price of a bottle. If in one of the stores the price is 15-30 percent lower, then the risk of buying counterfeit vodka there increases several times. Miracles do not happen, the cost of the same vodka in different stores cannot be very different.

At the same time, it should be noted that earlier it was the low price that gave out fake vodka, but now the counterfeiters have grown wiser and in most cases sell their surrogate at the price of the original. Therefore, you need to take into account the accompanying factors;

Colour. Real vodka is absolutely transparent without turbidity and sediment at the bottom. To check this, just turn the bottle upside down, hold it for a few seconds and look through it at the sunlight. Vodka should be free of foreign particles, orange, light yellow and other shades. If the color changes, then you have poorly purified vodka, alcohol or water of which contains foreign impurities.

How to distinguish common alcohol from technical alcohol?

In some cases, it is possible to identify low-quality alcohol only after the bottle is opened. How to distinguish an alcoholic surrogate?

Methyl alcohol in appearance and smell does not differ in any way from ordinary ethyl alcohol.

Therefore, the main protection against poisoning is buying drinks in trusted places.

If, for some reason, you suspect that the alcohol is fake, try checking it at home:

- if you set fire to a strong drink based on ethyl alcohol, then it should burn with a blue flame, while burning methanol has a green color; if the drink is transparent, throw a small piece of raw potatoes into the bottle: in industrial alcohol it will take on a pink tint, and in vodka it will remain white;

- if you heat a copper wire on a fire and lower it into a liquid, then methanol will give itself out with an unpleasant pungent smell of formaldehyde, ethanol does not smell at all during the test.

Of course, it would be most prudent to refuse tasting in any doubtful case, even if chemical experiments did not reveal anything suspicious.

How to understand that you have been poisoned by a surrogate?

However, other warning signs develop over the course of several hours. It can be:

- severe pain throughout the body;

- deterioration of vision, in which the picture in front of the eyes can float and vague dancing spots appear;

- slowing down of heartbeat and breathing;

- a coma in which a drunk person does not respond to external stimuli and does not wake up.

Such symptoms are a sign of great trouble. If you suspect methanol poisoning, you need to urgently call an ambulance and start providing first aid yourself.

It is worth choosing alcohol wisely and correctly.

New Year's holidays are about to come. A sea of entertainment, gifts, various food and, of course, alcohol, which is an indispensable part of any festive table, either New Year or someone's birthday.

Some people try choose alcohol looking at their financial capabilities, but do not even think about what danger they are putting themselves in buying cheap product... But expensive does not always mean high quality. That's why alcohol should always be chosen carefully, and how to do this I will tell you below.

How to choose Champagne

Sparkling champagne everyone is already directly associated with some big holiday, and especially with the New Year. Not everyone can afford real champagne, because what we usually buy is only sparkling wine, since the real champagne is produced only in his home country - France and its price bites hard enough for a person with an average income. If you nevertheless decide to buy it for yourself, then get ready for the fact that you will have to pay at least 650-850 rubles for one bottle. If this is not possible, you should not be upset, because the taste of sparkling wine directly depends on its quality. Which, unfortunately, is very difficult to identify in a closed bottle.

When examining a bottle, the first thing to do is to look at champagne label, where quality standards should be indicated, as well as the place of production of raw materials and the champagne itself. The closer the producer of raw materials is to the producer of champagne, the better it will be.

The next thing you should do is shake the bottle, high-quality alcohol will foam quickly enough, taking up all the free space. But do not shake too hard, otherwise the cork will simply not withstand the pressure inside and will pop out.

By the way, about the traffic jam. In good sparkling wine the cork will be made of natural material, which is easy to determine because it is soft enough and if you press it with your fingernail, a trace will remain.

The last external factor that can be used to determine the quality of champagne is the bottle. It should be dark, made of thick glass and quite weighty. Dark and thick glass protects champagne from spoiling and will never explode in your hands.

Further the quality of the shaman can only be determined after purchasing it... At first, the bubbles should be small and billow up serpentine lines. Also, if you want to be sure of the quality, you need to throw a small object into the glass, preferably grapes and if small bubbles "stick around" it, you can be sure of the quality of the purchased champagne.

How to choose Wine

It is this drink that is the second guest on the tables of lovers of the feast. It is especially preferred by those who do not particularly want to get drunk or do not like strong alcohol. It is not too difficult to choose a wine and it can be done by external factors, which can be easily identified in the store.

If you want to buy quality and delicious wine , buy only sweet or semi-sweet, since semi-sweet, which is so popular in the CIS countries, is made from the lowest quality raw materials and corresponds to its price. In addition, such wines contain a large amount of preservatives and other chemicals, since naturally semi-sweet dry wine almost impossible to get.

Catchy label. Major wine brands and manufacturers of quality products are trying to make the most of themselves. Therefore, often on good drink the manufacturer will be indicated in capital letters.

In addition, there must be a harvest year on the label, but if it is not there, then you can immediately put this bottle back on the shelf.

A good grower will also be sure to list the grape varieties.... If there is a simple inscription “Made from selected grape varieties”, but the varieties are not indicated, you can be sure that this wine is made from low-quality products. The only exceptions are French wines, because in France it is allowed not to indicate grape varieties, since everything is regulated there at the state level.

Also never buy wine in paper bags... After all, this indicates that the manufacturer is trying to save on you as much as possible. Therefore, buy wine exclusively in bottles. It is worth paying attention to the cork, it is best if it is made of wood. After you remove the cork, you should smell it, if the smell is musty, it means that the wine has deteriorated.

And of course, cheap good wines can not be. If you want to buy a quality product, get ready to shell out at least 500 rubles from your pocket.

How to choose Vodka

The undoubted guest of any Russian man who loves strong alcohol and a good drink. For many, vodka is a rather disgusting and tasteless drink, but this does not make it less admirers. Unfortunately, vodka is the leader among the most commonly poisoned alcohol. Therefore, even such alcohol should be able to choose the right one.

The first thing to pay attention to is transparency of vodka... It's no secret that vodka is a mixture of alcohol and water. Therefore, if there are any extra impurities in it, incomprehensible particles that float in a liquid, a slightly cloudy or even yellowish color, this will indicate a poor-quality product. It is easy to check this, just turn the bottle upside down and look at the light. If something is floating in the bottle, you can safely return the bottle to its place.

It is also worth looking at the label.... It should be well glued, without bubbles or damage. Few people pay attention to the manufacturer, but on bad vodka it is usually simply absent.

Also the stopper must sit firmly in the neck, and a stamp with the date of manufacture should be placed on it, however, as well as on the label. In addition, on 100% good vodka, only on some bottles you can notice small dark spots left by the conveyor, but this happens very rarely.

And the last thing worth paying attention to is the shelf life. It should not exceed more than one year. If vodka says that it can last for about two years or more, this means that it contains a large amount of chemical impurities.

How to choose Whiskey

Quite an expensive drink for the average person who earns an average salary. But, if you nevertheless decided to buy it, it is advisable to buy a good product so as not to spoil your impression of him.

The first thing you should pay attention to is the type to which the whiskey belongs. Single Malt , which is made from mixtures of different alcohols and barley. A fairly standard manufacturing technology, from which it inspires confidence and buying a whiskey of this type you are unlikely to break through with quality.
Single Kask Melt made from one type of alcohol, from which it is difficult in manufacturing technology. In the CIS countries, it is quite rare, and if there is, it costs a decent amount.
Pure Malt it is a kind of mixture of the previous two species, it is almost impossible to get it from us, and its taste as a whole depends on the manufacturer and his distilling technique.

It is also worth paying attention to whiskey aging... The larger it is, the better, the smallest period is three years, it is best to buy whiskey aged more than 5 years, since a short aging period lowers the taste of whiskey.

The price of whiskey depends more on the popularity of the manufacturer than on the quality of the drink. It is worth paying attention to the difference in price in different stores, it should be no more than 20 percent. After all, if it is higher, this may indicate a fake product.

How to choose Cognac

The alcoholic beverage usually given as a gift than bought for yourself. It has a fairly high price, which makes it a luxury for most ordinary citizens, an indicator of prosperity.

Natural cognac is produced only in France and nowhere else, the rest are considered grape brandy. At home, its production and quality is strictly regulated by the state, so there is simply no low-quality French cognac. In other countries, this process is not so heavily regulated, from which the buyer may have doubts about its quality.

One of the main factors of such a rarity of availability of cognac in ordinary people is its price. Cognac is very expensive for production and therefore the price will be appropriate. It is best to buy this drink in a specialized alcoholic shop, since in an ordinary supermarket, few people can avoid a fake, which manifests itself only in small factors and appearance.

In addition, it is worth noting that the aging period of alcohol should be from two years or more. Cognac is considered to be aged for 12 years, from which it has a very refined and pleasant taste. It is best to buy cognac aged from 3-5 years, since it is during this period that the cognac is very saturated.

How to choose a Liquor

Liqueur is a mixture of alcoholic infusion, berry syrup or herbal infusions, spices, etc.... Liqueurs are especially popular among the female half of the population, because they taste good and are not particularly alcoholic.

The first thing you need to pay attention to is the liquid itself. If the liquor is transparent, it should be dry and not cloudy. If it is cloudy or of a certain color, then the emulsion inside should not blur and be a separate part from alcohol. Also, a good liquor should never foam, it is easy to check by shaking the bottle. If a foam forms at the top, this indicates a poor-quality product and various chemical impurities.

Also, the composition should not contain artificial flavors, since real liqueur is made from natural products... Their presence is easy enough to check. To do this, pour the drink into a glass and let it stand for 5-10 minutes, and then smell it. The fake liquor will no longer smell like the real one, which will still retain its pleasant aroma.

If you want to be sure of the quality, you should take a copper wire, twist it in a spiral, heat it and dip it in 150 grams of liquor. If a very unpleasant odor appears, which you most often find in the hospital, this means that there is a rather dangerous admixture of folmadehyde in the liqueur.

How to choose a Beer

This alcoholic drink cannot be called a festive one, rather it is used in big noisy companies or as an everyday soft drink.

The first thing you need to pay attention to is the composition. A good beer is usually 80 percent water and 20 percent malt. If there is no malt in the composition, then you should refuse to buy such beer. It is also worth paying attention to the shelf life. The smaller it is, the better, because beer with a long shelf life is added of various kinds stabilizers, which is very harmful to health.

The next item is where the beer is stored in the store. If it is located in an open space, where it is hot and stuffy, you should refuse to buy such beer, because its place is in the refrigerator.

Also, after each sip on the glass (at good beer) the foam circle remains. Moreover, it is formed every time after each sip, 5 sips - 5 foam circles. True, usually not everyone likes such beer, but you can be sure that it is made at least of high quality. In addition, for good beer, after the glass is emptied, foam should in any case remain on the walls, especially if it remains throughout the glass.

The container in the case of beer does not really matter, it is rather a matter of your taste, because the beer does not spoil both in a barrel or glass bottles, and in glasses, if kept cool. The leading position for high-quality beer storage is occupied by an aluminum can, due to its tightness and the fact that the beer in it is protected from light, which significantly extends the shelf life of the product.

In second place is a glass bottle, it must necessarily be dark glass.

But it is worth noting that it is highly discouraged to buy beer in plastic bottles. This is due to the fact that when liquids containing ethanol (ethyl alcohol) come into contact with PET packaging, a very harmful substance, dibutyl phtolate, is transferred into beer, which is very harmful to health. After drinking such beer, the hangover syndrome will be more painful, with a severe headache.

Well, it is worth choosing alcohol wisely and correctly. After all, if you do not do this, you can easily get poisoned by a low-quality product and apply irreparable harm health. Each type of alcohol is chosen in its own way, but the main rule after buying it is to use it in moderation!

Take care of yourself and be healthy! Happy Holidays!

Fine( 2 ) Badly( 1 )

In 2016, more than 9 thousand Russians died from poisoning with surrogate alcohol, another 36 thousand were poisoned. How not to fall into these sad statistics?

"Elite alcohol" at cheap prices via the Internet

At the end of 2015, there was a high-profile case - in Krasnoyarsk, 14 people died from poisoning with surrogate whiskey and about a hundred lost their health. They didn't drink cleansing liquids, bath lotions, or suspicious tinctures - they just bought a well-known brand of whiskey online. And there were some in a hospital bed, and some in a morgue. Distance selling alcohol is prohibited by law, but there are dozens of websites selling alcohol on the Internet. There, drinks, allegedly from well-known manufacturers, can be bought 5-10 times cheaper. But what is this " elite alcohol"And isn't he fraught with danger?

Nobody knows what's inside
Several types of alcohol-containing products are called alcoholic surrogates: for example, they include medicines with ethyl alcohol in the composition (including the famous hawthorn tincture), household liquids, technical alcohols - butyl, methyl, ethylene glycol, etc.

The latter are the most dangerous. For example, ethylene glycol leads to kidney and liver failure, and methylene leads to blindness. The outcome may depend on the dose and on what exactly is mixed in the fake drink: for example, the presence of ethyl alcohol reduces the severity of the poisoning - it partially neutralizes the effect of methyl alcohol.

Just 50-100 ml of liquid with methanol is enough to poison you to death.

Narcologists say that methyl alcohol tastes almost indistinguishable from ethyl alcohol. On the Internet, you can find a lot of tips on how to determine the presence by means of improvised means technical alcohols in the drink, but experts say none are reliable. It is impossible to determine what the surrogate actually consists of without special analyzes.

Something went wrong: how not to miss a poisoning
It turns out that in the case of alcohol, the victim has no chance to suspect something was wrong in time. And the people around him - too, since outwardly when poisoning, nothing strange or suspicious happens to him: he gets drunk, behaves and falls asleep as usual. It just might not wake up. Or he wakes up, and in good health, and then suddenly symptoms of poisoning begin - nausea, vomiting, headache, severe thirst, agitation, problems with breathing and vision. Unfortunately, in this case, not everyone goes to the doctor and may associate poor health with alcohol consumption the day before. Alas, death almost always happens before the victim of fake alcohol goes to the doctors.

The sooner a person who has been poisoned by a surrogate gets to the doctors and receives help, the more chances he will not lose his health or even his life. Unfortunately, both are quite real. Therefore, it is important to suspect something was wrong in time and call an ambulance.

What should be alarming
- Although in the early stages poisoning with surrogates does not manifest itself in any way, one can suspect that something was wrong by the way in which intoxication occurs and passes. If unusually slow, it should alert.

Too long deep sleep after drinking is a very alarming sign. The loved ones of a person who drank alcohol should watch him during sleep.

You need to pay attention to any signs of poisoning 1-2 days after drinking alcohol - and go to the hospital immediately if this happens.

A particularly alarming symptom is any visual impairment (double vision, the picture is cloudy, flies flicker, etc.).

How not to run into singed alcohol
Not every alcoholic counterfeit is a deadly drink.

It also includes quite high-quality, but illegally produced alcohol. According to various estimates, the really dangerous surrogate on the alcohol market is less than 5 percent, and the risk of running into it, guided by common sense when choosing, is small. However, the advice to simply not drink what is not intended for this is, unfortunately, not a guarantee that the deadly product will not fall into your hands.

Here are some tips to help you reduce this risk.

1. Buy where it is allowed to sell alcohol Do not buy alcohol either in kiosks, or on the Internet, or in the market, or from hands - the sale of alcoholic beverages anywhere else, except for shops and licensed public catering, is prohibited.
For the purpose of self-defense, it makes sense to ask other people not to give strong alcohol and not accept it as a gift, since there are cases of fatal and severe poisoning with just such “presents”.

2. Choose your drinks carefully
In terms of a surrogate, the most dangerous are spirits, and among them are combined ones: whiskey, cognac, rum, etc. In such ones it is easiest to "hide" dangerous alcohols and any additives in general. Therefore, if you choose complex drinks, you must be one hundred percent sure of their legality and quality. Any doubts - the wrong color, strange smell, sediment, suspicious label or excise tax - should be interpreted in favor of quitting, even if the place of purchase seems reliable.
You should also be careful when ordering strong alcohol in questionable cafes and restaurants, where it is impossible to verify its origin.

3. Read what you buy
According to statistics, only 41 percent of alcohol consumers buy products from well-known manufacturers, paying attention to the brand, and 31 percent do not read labels at all. The former have incomparably less chances of running into a surrogate.

4. Check each bottle
Each legal bottle of alcohol in Russia must have a federal special stamp (if the product is domestic) or an excise stamp (if imported) that is the carrier of EGAIS information. You can check the brand for authenticity right in the store using a mobile device and a special application "Anti-counterfeiting Alco" or on the website of Rosalkogolregulirovanie in the section "Checking stamps".