Jessica Pegg, 41 years old, was planning to spend night with an invigorating gin and tonic. So, she went to Asda, a popular supermarket in Britain, and bought a bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin. Pegg bought the alcohol for $21.00.
After taking a sip of the drink mixed with the Bombay Sapphire gin, Pegg claimed that she didn’t taste any alcohol. When she took another sip, she realized that the liquid contained inside the bottle wasn’t alcohol, it was only water, SWNS reports.
Although she couldn’t remember quite clearly, Pegg was somehow assured that the bottle she bought was sealed. It even had a security tag when she took it from the shelf in the supermarket.
Pegg said, “As a mum with two young children I don’t drink often at all. I sat down with a gin and tonic and just assumed I hadn’t put very much gin in. But then I came to have another over the weekend and I put the gin on top of the tonic and I prepared myself for a strong first sip.”
She continued, “But when it came to it I couldn’t taste anything. Then I went back to the bottle and sniffed it and tasted it, and it turned out it was just water. I think I was just a bit surprised and I’m baffled really.”
Pegg, who has two children, was really looking forward to try the bottle. She said, “Essentially I have bought a really expensive bottle of water. In some ways, it is quite funny, but at the same time £17 is quite a lot for gin, so it is a little annoying.”
Pegg added, “Having just had my second child I am a bit scatty, but I would like to think that both myself or the checkout person would have noticed of the seal or the tag had been broken.”
Pegg, who worked in advertising, bought the bottle a few weeks before she finally opened it. When she went back to Asda about the incident, she wasn’t allowed to have a refund.
She said, “They said they couldn’t give me a refund and I fully understand why, but I just wanted to let them know and to be aware. I don’t know how it happened, my best guess would be either someone swapped the contents at the factory or at the shop, but who knows.”
A spokesperson for Bombay Sapphire released a statement:
“The Bombay Spirits Company LTD prides itself on being creators of gin of exceptional quality.
“All production processes are heavily controlled and monitored to ensure that the product is at the correct alcoholic strength as defined by regulatory requirements; and it is not possible for water to reach the bottle in our production processes.
"We have received no correspondence on this issue, but as it has now been highlighted to us, we would like to investigate this further, and would kindly request the return of the bottle.”
A spokesperson for Asda said, “These bottles arrive with us sealed and leave us sealed so we can’t understand how this could have happened. We know Ms. Pegg is returning the bottle to Bombay Sapphire directly, but we’re keen to help her get to the bottom of it and will do anything else we can to help.”
It seemed like Pegg got a new bottle of the gin as an exchange. Hopefully, this time, it would be real alcohol so she can finally drink many nights away.
