Scientists have just developed an all new method to differentiate between quality whiskey and not so quality whiskey.
Using a synthetic tongue, which is actually a sensor array made up of solutions containing glowing sophisticated dyes, the researchers were able to pick out different qualities in whiskeys. Qualities such as their origin– whether it be Ireland, Scotland or the U.S, blending state– whether blend or single malt, taste– whether rich or light, its brand, and even age. The study, which was published in the journal Chem, used a combination of 22 different fluorescent solutions to find out these qualities in 33 different whiskeys.
“We can use this to detect fake whiskies,” Uwe Bunz, senior co-author of the study and an organic chemist at Heidelberg University said. “If you buy a crate of expensive whiskeys, you can test if they are actually what you think they are.”
When the solutions were mixed with samples of whiskey, the whiskey caused a subtle change in the brightness of each chemical’s glow, Cell Press reported. And then using a machine called a plate reader to measure the subtle changes in fluorescence, the researchers were able to find a signature pattern for each whiskey.
Though the synthetic tongue does not look like an actual tongue, it uses same of the principles, Bunz said.”Our human tongue consists of 6 or 7 different receptors — sweet, salty, bitter, sour, umami, and hotness — and they’re able to identify food by differential reactions of those elements,” he said. “The combination of differential receptors gives you an overall taste impression of what you eat.”
A current method used to test the quality of whiskey is mass spectrometry, which is used to identify its chemical composition. Mass spectrometry works by breaking down a mixture into the individual chemicals that make it up. The difference between that method and the new one is that the synthetic tongues respond to the overall mixture, Cell reported. And because the solutions do not break down the individual chemicals, they are not able to detect small substances such as traces of toxins that are sometimes present, according to New Scientist. “If someone put in a small amount of poison or something, you could not discriminate that,” Bunz said. However, the new method it is able to recognize whether two bottles of whiskey are the same.
Though the synthetic tongue is able to spot similar types of whiskey, it is not able to identify an unknown whiskey from scratch. So instead you have to start with a sample that is real and then compare another sample to it, Bunz said. The new method being cheaper and quicker is a great way to spot cheap whiskeys that pose as expensive ones.
With the results compiled from this study, the researchers hope to be able to differentiate between other counterfeit consumer goods such as perfumes, other alcoholic beverages, and even prescription drugs in the future.
