In Scotland, researchers have created an artificial “language” that is capable of tasting subtle distinctions among whiskey traits: an instrument that can assist reduce the trade of counterfeit alcohol.
Teams from two universities in Glasgow have developed a small taster that takes advantage of gold and aluminum to test spirit differences.
The two metals, placed in the pattern of the checkboard, are made of sub-microscopic sections like’ tastebuds’ in the artificial tongue of the team. The investigators then poured whiskey specimens over tastebuds and measured how light is absorbed when submerged.
Statistical analysis of the very subtle differences in how metals absorb light–known as plasmon resonance-in the artificial tongue has enabled the team to identify various types of whiskeys.
The tongue was able to taste the difference between beverages with more than 99 percent precision when it sampled a range of whiskeys from products like Glenfiddich, Glen Marnoch and Laphroaig.
The tongue was also capable of distinguishing between the same whiskey in various barrels and the difference between the same wine aged 12, 15 and 18 years.
“It’s like we do not know which individual chemicals make coffee taste different from apple juice. It can readily make the distinction between these complicated chemical mixtures,” said Dr. Alasdair Clark of the University of Glasgow.’ The language of coffee is artificial because it acts in a similar way as a human language.
“We are not the first scientists to produce a synthetic tongue, but we are the first to produce one artificial language using two distinctive kinds of’ goodies ‘ metal nanoscale, which offers data on the’ good’ of each sample and enables a quicker and more precise reaction.
In this experiment, the focus was on whiskey. In relation to its apparent ability to use in the identification of fake alcoholics, this can be used in food safety, quality control, safety, and even in any field where it is portable, reusable, and is very easy to’ taste’ near any type of liquid.” Engineers and chemists from Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities performed the study.
