Even if this really works, would it ever convince the snobs?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-...-that-makes-cheap-whisky-taste-expensive.html
The wooden stick that makes cheap whisky taste expensive
A company from Oregon has produced an oak stick which it claims mimics the ageing process to give inexpensive whisky the complex flavours of premium bottles
...a new gadget would suggest that you really don't need to spend very much on whisky at all, even if you have a taste for the posh stuff. A company in Oregon has launched a Kickstarter campaign to produce a wooden widget which, it is claimed, can dramatically improve the flavour of any whisky (or whiskey, for that matter) in just 24 hours.
Based on the premise that the two factors which distinguish a premium whisky from cheap supermarket hooch are "time" and "oak", Tony Peniche from Portland came up with a "whiskey element", a wooden stick (oak of course) covered in notches which mimics the effect of traditional barrel-ageing in a fraction of the time.
"The results were amazing," Peniche explains on his Kickstarter page. "They showed characteristics found in top-shelf aged whiskeys with notably higher levels of the chemicals responsible for good flavours and smells, as well as a significant reduction in Methoxy-phenyl-Oxime and Acetaldehyde [chemicals which contribute to hangovers]".
Peniche plans to sell different elements with different characterisitcs: oaky, vanilla, maple, smokey and peat.
The project, which was seeking $18,000 in funding, has attracted almost $200,000 worth of backing.
So is this the end of the luxury whisky market? Can a $12 oak stick (plus shipping) really do all that is claimed? We're not sure, but we're prepared to give it a try.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/the-...-that-makes-cheap-whisky-taste-expensive.html
The wooden stick that makes cheap whisky taste expensive
A company from Oregon has produced an oak stick which it claims mimics the ageing process to give inexpensive whisky the complex flavours of premium bottles
...a new gadget would suggest that you really don't need to spend very much on whisky at all, even if you have a taste for the posh stuff. A company in Oregon has launched a Kickstarter campaign to produce a wooden widget which, it is claimed, can dramatically improve the flavour of any whisky (or whiskey, for that matter) in just 24 hours.
Based on the premise that the two factors which distinguish a premium whisky from cheap supermarket hooch are "time" and "oak", Tony Peniche from Portland came up with a "whiskey element", a wooden stick (oak of course) covered in notches which mimics the effect of traditional barrel-ageing in a fraction of the time.
"The results were amazing," Peniche explains on his Kickstarter page. "They showed characteristics found in top-shelf aged whiskeys with notably higher levels of the chemicals responsible for good flavours and smells, as well as a significant reduction in Methoxy-phenyl-Oxime and Acetaldehyde [chemicals which contribute to hangovers]".
Peniche plans to sell different elements with different characterisitcs: oaky, vanilla, maple, smokey and peat.
The project, which was seeking $18,000 in funding, has attracted almost $200,000 worth of backing.
So is this the end of the luxury whisky market? Can a $12 oak stick (plus shipping) really do all that is claimed? We're not sure, but we're prepared to give it a try.
