A new meaning for Pyramid selling
Fake whisky bottles appear in most markets of the world. But as Erkin Touzmohamedov reports, there are some bizarre ones in Egypt
When Moses went to Egypt (to let his people go), heâd hardly have imagined that this landâs inventors would give the world âwater of lifeâ. It is generally considered that Alexandriaâs alchemists passed the knowledge of distillation â i.e. the production of alcohol â to Europe. Alas, Islamâs holy book the Koran prohibits the internal use of alcohol. But in recent years with the huge influx of western tourists into Egypt, especially the Red Sea towns of Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada and Dahab â favoured by divers from all over the world, the situation is changing.
Being a diver Iâve watched these towns grow for the last 10 years. I come to the Red Sea for diving once or twice a year. Itâs not because I am part of the idle rich â for Russians one week in a four star hotel, all inclusive, will be anything from $150 to $750 per person depending upon the season including flights â quite reasonable, yeah?
And Iâve been watching local whiskies as they appear. I mean watching; Iâm mostly sure these drinks are not for oral use, although some of the labels say they are âfor beverageâ. I am more of a collector of those artifacts, than an oral consumer.
Egyptian whisky
The first whisky I spotted in Egypt was in Dahab six years ago, and it was a fantastic product called Jhoni Walker Red Table complete with figure of a striding man and in a bottle resembling the world-famous square one.
A year later the line of Egyptian whiskies grew to include more varia.....
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By Erkin Touzmahamedov
Section : Whisky Trends
Page number : 48
