# Vodka watered down - who would I report this to?



## doobey (22 Dec 2004)

at a well known Dublin city centre hostelry

dont order vodka, its watered down and the staff try to plaumause you by saying that it's the ice.

forget that. i'm a vodka drinker and I know what a shot of vodka and coke tastes like.

who would I report this to?


name of pub edited out by ajapale


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## ClubMan (22 Dec 2004)

Not 100% sure but I would try Revenue, in particular one of the excise related departments. Or the _Gardaí_.


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## davido (22 Dec 2004)

Or the manufacturer/supplier of the particular brand.  They would be very interested if their product is being compromised in this way.


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## piggy (22 Dec 2004)

This is (anecdotally) quite common with beer (watering down)....so I'd imagine it's very common with spirits too (especially in nightclubs).


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## davido (22 Dec 2004)

I don't think beer can be watered down because the kegs are pressurised but I sure there is a way around it.  I worked in a pub in London many years ago and I caught the landlord pouring slops back into a keg of real ale, which is not carbonated.  Seemingly people used to look out for what ale the landlord was drinking because they knew that one wasn't tampered with.  It was widespread.


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## Murt10 (22 Dec 2004)

I think it'sactually the Weights and Measures section of the Dublin Corporation that looks after this


[broken link removed]


Murt


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## rainyday (22 Dec 2004)

Try reporting them to the [broken link removed]. From their website;



> The Office also investigate complaints under the Consumer Information Act, 1978 made about the adulteration (watering down) of alcoholic drinks in licensed premises e.g. vodka, gin etc.


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## N0elC (22 Dec 2004)

One of the big pubs in Lucan village is notorious for this sort of stuff. Doesn't stop the hoards of people visiting the same establishment though.


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## N0elC (22 Dec 2004)

*Counterfeit booze*

News at One a few days ago was saying that counterfeit booze is a bigger risk to drinkers over this Holiday season:

[broken link removed]


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## getoffthepot (22 Dec 2004)

*Re: Counterfeit booze*

Report it to the customer complaints dept of the Brand owner.

They will verify it and follow it up.


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## cullenswood (7 Jan 2005)

*Re: Counterfeit booze*

A pub out my neck of the woods was caught for doing this.   They only got a fine ( I reckon they should have had their licenced revoked), but their business has been hit hard.   None of the locals go there any more, so the place is like a ghost town.   Just desserts I think!


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## Biggles (10 Jan 2005)

*Re: Counterfeit booze*

As Rainyday has pomted out, Consumer Affairs is the relevant authority to contact.  They'll send an inspector who'll buy a sanple drink and then advise the barperson that it's being removed for analysis.

If convicted, a fine will be the most likely outcome, but as cullenswood has suggested, the impact on business will be the real punishment.


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## Strawberries (17 Apr 2008)

One of my friends used to work in a bar and said they used to put the cheap vodka (Huzzar etc) into the Smirnoff pump, they made a fortune from it!


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## Staples (17 Apr 2008)

The National Consumers Association is the current incarnation of Consumer Affairs.  www.nca.ie


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## foxylady (18 Apr 2008)

The Compeititon Authority also deal with this kind of thing.


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## Complainer (19 Apr 2008)

Staples said:


> The National Consumers Association is the current incarnation of Consumer Affairs.  www.nca.ie


Apologies in advance for being pedantic, but it's the National Consumer *Agency*, not Association. Agency or Authority would usually mean a state body, whereas Association would usually be a charity or club or similar.


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## dodo (20 Apr 2008)

If you are unsure why not order the ice separate, I always in a restaurant ask for a coke without ice so to get more coke.


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## GarBow (2 May 2008)

Saw this a few years back on a blackboard outside a pub in kent.

"Due to recent drought issues, hosepipe bans and the current water restrictions, we will now be serving full strength beer here"


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## John Rambo (2 May 2008)

Sadly this sort of rubbish is commonplace...I went into a well known place about a year ago and ordered a Jack Daniels and Red Bull. I took a sip of the straight JD and it was totally watered down. This was reasonably late but it was my first drink so I could tell. I reported the matter to the Gardai. Similarly, my brother worked in another well known place while in college. They used to switch the Bud, Calsberg, Heineken etc kegs over to this cheap crap at around midnight when they figured people would struggle to tell the difference. Terrible really


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## FredBloggs (2 May 2008)

Didn't they try something similar at a wedding in Cana?


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## z103 (2 May 2008)

I suppose on the plus side, when I was at college in the UK we used to drink loads of obviously watered down lager. It didn't taste very nice and was from plastic pint glasses.
It certainly saved me from many a severe hangover, or alcohol poisoning.

I was very surprised when I visited Dublin pubs and realised I was getting drunk after about 2 pints instead of 4-6 pints. The spirits had alcohol in them as well, which I found quite surprising


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