(Newser)
– Most people want to turn back time. Among whiskey producers, a search has evolved to speed it up. Last fall, Bespoken Spirits, a Silicon Valley startup, came to the fore by raising $ 2.6 million in seed funding to introduce a rapid aging process that would lead to whiskey ripening. in barrels, which usually last at least three years. It’s an evolution that Bespoken said could recover $ 20 billion a year for the whiskey industry, according to Phys.org. “This is Accelerated Maturation 2.0,” said then-co-founder Stuart Aaron. Now New York Times take a closer look at Bespoken and other companies like this, the history of whiskey aging and the technology they now use to make a practical process overnight. Whiskey usually stays in oak barrels for a few years to several decades, and as the seasons change and temperatures rise and fall, the whiskey is pushed into and out of the wood of the barrel, which enhances the aroma and color. liquid. .
Whiskey producers are now avoiding this longer process. Bespoken, for example, throws small pieces of wood called “microstaves”, made from different species of wood (ie, not just oak) into a steel tank, along with the unfounded whiskey. Workers increase and decrease the heat and pressure inside the tank, achieving the same “aging” effect in a fraction of the time. Other manufacturers throw light into the wood to affect its molecular structure or “reverse engineer” the process using natural sources such as yeast and plants. One company, Endless West, says it can create a copy of the 30-year-old Balvenie single-malt scotch, which sells for about $ 1,300 and can sell for about $ 40. Connoisseurs say that fast-acting whiskeys are not up to par with the traditionally aged ones, but they may not matter. “A whiskey like Bespoken’s doesn’t have to taste the best bourbon to succeed,” he said. Times note. “It just has to be better than the worst, at a competitive price.” (Read more whiskey stories.)