The Weeble sent me this the other day (via the 56minus1 blog) - one of the most bizarre and hilarious rip-off 'brands' I've yet seen in China: Johnny Worker 'Black Labial'!
It reminded me of this similar one below, which I spotted on my trip to Harbin last year - although, by comparison, the barely recognisable (double Dutch??) mangling of Joens Dahnse is a pretty poor brand-aping effort (although I love that it is a Tenderness Whiskey).
This is a very common phenomenon here in China. I suppose it is an attempt to avoid accusations of trademark infringement, since shirts which sport a Lacoste-like alligator on the right breast rather than the left, or which bear the words 'Ralph Tauren POLQ' are unlikely to mislead any but the unwariest customer.
It does provides barrels of laughs for us cynical laowai, though.
(I have no idea what whiskies like this 'Black Labial' may taste like. Probably pretty awful, I would guess. But a more serious problem here is the stuff that passes itself off fairly convincingly - at least as regards the bottle and label - as the real McCoy, but is in fact rotgut alcohol; sometimes watered-down a bit, sometimes with an addition of some sort of food colouring, but mostly just pure - or not so pure - ethanol. I don't think I've come across any methanol yet, but it's only a matter of time. And some of this fake stuff is quite toxic enough, thank you very much. Be warned, China newbies, be wary.)
3 comments:
Also worthy of note is the bottle next to the Black Labial, "GeLanWei," which I assume is an attempt to sound like the Chinese name of "Glenfiddich." Tricksy!
I think that's supposed to be Grant's Whi(sky).
I did once get tempted to try (they had it on sale in the little supermarket next to Herself's old flat) that was called.... oh, I must go and dig out the bottle.
I may even have to do a special post for this.....
Tianchi Manor *12* Special Whisky.
Oh, there's more, but I can't read it in this light.
Made of "the world's finest grapes", apparently. As you'd expect of any fine 'wine'.
I've just noticed that the upper banner label on the Jack Daniel's rip-off says "JohnsDaphne"!!!
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