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Whiskey Webs


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While attending the Jim Beam Institute Bourbon Industry Conference at UK in Lexington recently, I met a fellow from U of L who has been mapping patterns in droplets of Whiskey.  It seems that when he mixes a little water in to Bourbon and some other Whiskeys and then views the drop with a high magnification microscope, certain chemicals are released by the water and migrate to the surface where they form a skin or coating and remain after the moisture is evaporated leaving patterns that look like spider webs.  The cool thing is that each type of whiskey has a unique pattern to some degree and this evolves as the juice ages as well as the proof changes.  A Makers is different from a Pappy and Jim Beam is different from Wild Turkey.  It is a means by which the authenticity of a bottle of rare and expensive bourbon might be identified once a small sample is available.  This is a bit of speculation me thinks but they do say that this could be used to catch counterfeiters.  Another cool thing is that this does not appear to occur at all with Scotch or Cognac or other non-North American liquors.  I attached one example of a Four Roses Barrel Strength just as a sample.  As an engineer, I found it interesting and points to how little we know sometimes.

 

At this stage it is semi scientific and more of an oddity than a proven method but interesting nonetheless.  It made me wonder if the same chemicals are the ones which float to the top and enhance or alter the nose in your glass after adding a few drops of branch water to your glass.  You can see more at:  www.whiskeywebs.org  

043-BB2019-FRBS-OBSO-thumb.jpg

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I forgot to credit Stuart Williams at U of L for the research and discovery of this interesting scientific method.  

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I too, find this fascinating!   As Irish pointed out; 'how little we know' . . . even when we aren't aware of how little that amount actually is, eh? HA!

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Oh, good.  For a minute I thought that was some sort of new BlueMoon Virus...  ?

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I'm wondering how he got a picture of one of my blue eyes after Saturday night at the Gazebo.

 

(Irish - since you're new here, I'll refer you to the Bourbon Social thread for the meaning of this)

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22 hours ago, Vosgar said:

I'm wondering how he got a picture of one of my blue eyes after Saturday night at the Gazebo.

 

(Irish - since you're new here, I'll refer you to the Bourbon Social thread for the meaning of this)

Thx, I will check it out

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