Community Chat

[Mindy D]

A national alert had been issued in Costa Rica after 29 people were confirmed to have died from methanol poisoning. Several brands of alcohol were tainted. Persons killed ranged from age 32 yo age 72. Some of the deaths were in San Jose, the nation’s most populous city. The government has seized about 30,000 bottles under the brands named Guaro Gran Apache, Aguardiente Estrella, Aguardiente Baron Rojo, Aguardiente Timbuktu’s and Molotov Aguardiente. 

[GiantsLover]

This is so sad to read.

May they all rest in peace and the culprit found and severly punished for all those who died from his eveil tampering with the product.

[godi]

Gosh this is just unbelievable. Thank goodness they investigated and are getting to the bottom of this terrible tragedy. 

[Cakers3]

I'm not sure if this is about product tampering.

Alcohol production is unregulated in many countries.

I found a report from 2018 outlining this problem.  It's a long report but you can skim through and see just how serious the problem is globally.

http://www.iard.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Alcohol-in-the-Shadow-Economy.pdf

[SilleeMee]

When booze-type alcohol is made, methanol and ethanol both come out in the process. Further processing of the product will yield the safe ethanol, but sometimes that doesn't happen.

[chrystaltree]

Cheap liquor.  There was some discussion about that being the cause of the tourist deaths in the DR.  Tainted liquor in the mini bars.  

[dex]

I wonder if the bad alcohol tastes different...harsh or some other clue that you should not drink it.

[SilleeMee]

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@dex wrote:

I wonder if the bad alcohol tastes different...harsh or some other clue that you should not drink it.

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Pure methanol tastes sweet and even though it's highly toxic, as are all alcohols, methanol can be found naturally in very small amounts in some fruit juices, distilled spirits and even some beers. What makes methanol so toxic is what it becomes once the body metabolizes it.

[lovesrecess]

I guess the lesson is if you travel into these places...don’t drink! I know people who don’t think it is a vacation unless they get plastered....hard to think the drinks these victims consumed would not have tasted odd...but maybe that is part of the adventure.

[chrystaltree]

I don't think anyone would notice a taste from counterfeit liquor since it's bottled, packaged and sold to look legit.  If it had an odd taste, people wouldn't drink it.  Also in those tropical locales, vacationers drink a lot of fruity tropical mixed drinks.  And, most vacationers tend to drink like prohibition is returning so they have drink a life time's worth of alcoholic beverages.