So first off, I’ll just come out and say this now: I AM NOT A FAN OF RAPID WHISKEY AGING TECHNIQUES. I don’t think there’s anything out there, be it technology or wood sticks, that can replace the time-honored tradition of regular barrel aging. Now that I have that off my chest, let me tell you about one of the first whiskies coming to market soon based on a new rapid aging technique from Lost Spirits.
Lost Spirits out of California was, as I described earlier last year, an innovator of American single malt whiskies at a time when the category was still finding its legs. It moved beyond this, however, unveiling back in April “a new type of chemical reactor capable of making aged spirits with a near identical chemical signature to 20 year old barrel aged products…while rapid aging of spirits is not a new idea, the Lost Spirits method is the first to accomplish a near identical chemical signature to a similar product aged conventionally for decades. The project has built on more than 5 years of research and investment to develop the approach that finally succeeded.”
Pulling from the same news release, here’s what Bryan Davis of Lost Spirits had to say at the time about his new invention he called THEA One:
Our compact reactors combine a series of alternative aging approaches, taking the best parts of each and then tuning them using gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy to clone the natural effects of age on a spirit.
The end result offers a 98 percent to 99 percent reduction in evaporation losses and a near perfect match to the semi-volatile organic fingerprint of the traditionally aged product. The reactors offer an average 6-day turn around time from fresh white spirit to the shelf, and no chemical additives are involved in the process.
The new technology will allow us to reshape the industry. As a consequence, expect prices to fall and quality to rise dramatically.
These reactors were more focused at first on rum but, as Axis of Whisky put it when visiting Lost Spirits recently to check out the technology “the holy grail, given the current bourbon boom, is flash-aged bourbon and rye.” It was said to be still of a bit of work in progress, though some whiskey samples sent to DrinkHacker for informal reviewing revealed mixed results depending upon the type (bourbon, or rye).
One thing Lost Spirits was looking to do with its Silicon Valley-born creation was to share it with partner distilleries who would run with the reactors to make their own rapid aged spirits. Turns out one of these is Sugarlands Distilling out of Tennessee, who we reported on a few months back as they undertook a big experimental whiskey push dubbed “the Whiskey Project.” It looks like their use of the reactor to compliment this has resulted in a new product called Time Machine Rye Whiskey.
There isn’t a lot of information available from Sugarlands yet on Time Machine. At this point, they only say that “historically, the production of whiskey has been hampered by one obstacle: time. At Sugarlands Distilling Co. we understand that good things often take time. But when thoughtful science and new technology open a door, we are compelled to step through.”
“The Lost Spirits’ system gives us an opportunity to make our premium, craft spirits available to the public at a quality level unimaginable for a young distillery,” said Greg Eidam, Head Distiller at Sugarlands Distilling Co., in a statement.
There’s no word yet on when this rapid aged whiskey will be available to market, or what it will cost. Sugarlands is taking reservations for bottles on its site right now for the ultra-curious who can’t wait to try this latest meeting of tech and whiskey. You already know my opinion on the subject, so I’ll put a challenge out to Sugarlands/Lost Spirits now: Send us a sample of your final crafted product and let’s see if it is truly worthy of the word whiskey.
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