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Most recently in 2018 and 2019, large parts of Europe were affected by periods of massive drought. Resulting losses in cereal yield pose a major risk to the global supply of barley, as more than 60% of global production is based in Europe. Despite the arising price fluctuations on the cereal market, authenticity of the crop must be ensured, which includes correct declaration of harvest years. Here, we show a novel approach that allows such differentiation for spring barley samples, which takes advantage of the chemical changes caused by the extreme drought. Samples from 2018 were successfully differentiated from those of 2017 by analysis of changes in near-infrared spectra, enrichment in the isotope 13C, and strong accumulation of the plant-physiological marker betaine. We demonstrate that through consideration of multiple modern analysis techniques, not only can fraudulent labelling be prevented, but indispensable knowledge on the drought tolerance of crops can be obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]