Skip to content 
Last Updated on December 28, 2022 by Lydia Martin
It takes a few days to distill a whiskey but years to make an exquisite one. Age statements are one of the factors people consider in having a good quality whiskey. But can a fine whiskey age overnight?
Let’s find out if whiskey can age faster than the usual process and what technology can age whiskey in a short time. Read on.
Can A Fine Whiskey Really Age Overnight?
Yes, a fine whiskey can age overnight. Every distiller has its unique process and system for aging.
However, some companies are currently using an aging process and technology that can make fine whiskey overnight.
After days of distilling, a whiskey is ready to be aged. The temperature, location, and barrel used are common factors to consider in aging a whiskey.
But with fast-aging technology and modern science, it rapidly imitates the aromas and taste of an aged whiskey. But does whiskey really get better with age?
Technology That Can Age A Fine Whiskey Overnight
Using a rapidly aging technology with modern scientific techniques can age a fine whiskey overnight. These technologies use metal or steel barrel that speeds up oxidation which helps to change the color, flavor, and aroma.
CaskForge from PicoBrew, THEA One from Lost Spirit, and ACTivation from Bespoken are some of the modern aging technology for whiskey.
It can mimic aging effects, aromas, and tastes overnight. But how long will whiskey last unopened?
How It Works
Rapid aging technologies for whiskeys are being mastered to recreate the barrel’s taste, smell, and texture.
It’s all done by using all-natural elements such as wood, char, and toast with some techniques, including exposure to bright light and pressure.
However, using modern aging technology for whiskey doesn’t take over the natural aging process.
It still lacks some of the roundness compared to a typically matured whiskey. But is there such a thing as clear whiskey?
How Companies Accelerate Maturation
Bespoken Spirits
Bespoken Spirits company uses an ACTivation technology that genomically maps an aged whiskey. ACTivation technology performs chemical reactions which can acquire components from the cask to form an aged whiskey overnight.
Bespoken Spirits offer modern technology that fastens the maturation of alcohol, which doesn’t taste differently from an old-aged whiskey.
Lost Spirits
Lost Spirit launched THEA One Aging Reactor in 2015. It imitates the aging process of creating spirits. [1] The process begins when the spirit and wood chunks are placed into a steel tank and heated up.
After extracting the right compounds, it is passed into a tube blasted with bright light. THEA One technology forces chemical composition. After using excessive heat and light, the liquid is nearly identical to an aged one.
Cleveland Whiskey
Cleaveland Whiskey company has a Pressure-Aging process that imitates the taste and aroma of an aged whiskey. To emulate that, they created a climate and pressure-controlled partition.
The company uses staves and cut-up wood with the young spirit and puts it in pressure-cable stainless steel tanks. It then applies different pressures and combines heat and oxygenation to mimic the conditions inside the cask.
Green River Spirits
Green River Spirits, owned by Green River Spirits Company, formerly Terressentia Corp., used a TerrePure system in its rapid aging process. The process cleans and refines a spirit using a natural process, ultrasonic energy-driven oxidation, and flavor infusion.
However, Terressentia Corp has undergone a series of development, and some speculations have arisen that it stopped the TerrePure process after Green River Spirits acquired it.
Endless West
Endless West made the first molecular spirit—Glyph. It’s a whiskey that has no age and doesn’t go through a barrel. The process starts with a base spirit and is added with various chemicals to medical-grade alcohol.
It uses a molecular map of whiskey created using analytical chemistry. These molecules are extracted from natural resources such as sugars, esters found in fruit, and acids.
FAQs
Can you artificially age whiskey?
Yes, you can artificially age a whiskey. It includes exposing the whiskey to extra light, heat, and sound and adding wood splinters.
But the most popular technique in artificially aging whiskey is exposing it to highly pressurized carbon dioxide.
Does whiskey age faster in a smaller barrel?
Yes, whiskey can age faster in a smaller barrel. Barrel size can make an impact on how quickly the liquor will age.
You can use a smaller barrel to age a higher proof two to six times faster, depending on the size of the smaller barrel.
Is whiskey better the longer it ages?
Yes, whiskey is better the longer it ages. A whiskey aged for more years will acquire more complex flavors from the barrel compared to a year or two aged whiskeys.
Also, high-aged statement whiskey often costs more than less-aged ones.
Final Thoughts
A fine whiskey can age overnight through modern technology and scientific methods.
The modern aging process and technology imitate the flavor profile of an aged whiskey. It turns a base spirit into a mature whiskey in hours –mimicking its color, aroma, and flavor.
These rapid-aging technologies can be the future era in making instant whiskeys.
Although it doesn’t taste very similar to conventional aged whiskeys, it doesn’t taste that bad.
References:
- https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/food/the-d-i-y-science-of-speed-aging-distilled-spirits-2405662/
Lydia Martin hails from Redmond, Washington, where you’ll find some of the best cocktail bars and distilleries that offer a great mix of local drinks. She used to work as a bar manager in Paris and is a self-taught mixologist whose passion for crafting unique cocktails led her to create Liquor Laboratory. Lydia can whip up a mean Margarita in seconds! Contact at [email protected] or learn more about us here.
Until distillers, and especially spirit judges get a better handle in sensory evaluation we need to reserve such judgement. This intensely complex matrix and process has been tested by the big distillers for over 80 years. 80 Years of Rapid Maturation – Why Are We Not There Yet? If you think the big distillery empires have not thought about rapid maturation (please lets avoid the oxymoronic rapid aging) and would not have brought rapidly matured products to market before now you are sadly mistaken. Or else their older departed bean-counters are spinning in their graves. While rapidly deteriorating!