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As brandies age, chemical interactions between the spirits and the wood casks they mature in grant them their distinctive hues, scents and tastes. These reactions are slow, and aging high-quality brandy currently takes several years.
Previous research found that ultrasound waves can help extract chemicals from plant tissues. Ultrasounds are pressure waves that cause tissues to rupture, releasing bioactive compounds stored within cells at a higher rate. As such, researchers wanted to see if ultrasound waves could help accelerate the aging of brandy.
The scientists flowed distilled wine through American oak chips. As the wine seeped past the wooden chips, the researchers blasted it with ultrasound waves. The researchers found that after only three days of ultrasound treatment, they produced spirits that were similar to brandies aged for years. The scientists will detail their findings in the May issue of the journal Ultrasonics Sonochemistry.
"Obtaining, in three days, a spirit with characteristics near to two-years-aged brandies was something really unexpected for us," says study co-author Valme García, a professor at the University of Cádiz in Spain.
Eight trained judges, including some of the researchers, deemed the resulting spirits nearly as good as traditional brandies. "They tasted surprisingly well, with good fruity and sweet flavors and a high aromatic intensity," García said.
Source: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2017/02/03/ultrasound-waves-wine-brandy/
(Score: 2, Disagree) by Grishnakh on Monday February 06 2017, @04:10AM
I like drinking wine on occasion, but I really don't understand why anyone would drink brandy. It's nasty, and not much better than just drinking vinegar (something else that comes from aged wine).
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday February 06 2017, @04:13AM
Say... what?
Just from curiosity, do you have a spirit drink that you like?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Funny) by driverless on Monday February 06 2017, @07:48AM
Just from curiosity, do you have a spirit drink that you like?
Yup. Brandy, meths, Pernod, paint stripper, Mr Sheen, brake fluid and Drambuie. Or, for fancy occasions, Pernod and ouzo with a spoonful of marmalade.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 06 2017, @04:14AM
Time to try some of the good stuff. Good brandy isn't cheap...and it does not remind me of vinegar!
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Monday February 06 2017, @04:21AM
I used to not like hard liquor. When I got married my boss got me a bottle of whiskey, maybe a liter. That stuff was damned tasty and went down fine. It was something like $80 for that bottle, but every couple years I spring for some fine, expensive whiskey.
Downside is, compared to the beer and wine I usually drink while mellowing out for the evening, the whiskey get's me shitfaced.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday February 06 2017, @04:44AM
Just imagine... a shitface on snotnose... or viceversa.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Snotnose on Monday February 06 2017, @04:49AM
Just imagine... a shitface on snotnose... or viceversa.
You should see what I flush down my toilet.
When the dust settled America realized it was saved by a porn star.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 06 2017, @05:39AM
I've tried cheap whisky and I've tried expensive whisky.
It has always tasted like the smell of old leathery gym shoes to me.
(Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Monday February 06 2017, @08:36AM
Not sure, where you put the limit between "cheap" and "expensive". I've seen (but not tried) good brands for 4000€ / 0.7l, cheaper ones for 10€ / 0.7l. And while I got some good stuff already for as little as ~20€ / 0.7 (Finlaggan, they sell re-branded surplus from other distilleries; taste varies depending where they bought. But from what I heard, they are mainly buying from three well-known distilleries, all of them matching my taste.), most bottles I would purchase are 30-80€, occasionally crossing the 3 digits for a tripple-cask.
But the main distinctions I'd make are what style of whisky (I'm a fan of Scotch malt whisky, never found another type of whisky I liked) and in which barrels they matured. Careful with blended Scotch whiskeys: Most of them (even the more expensive ones and the popular ones like Ballantine's and Chivas Regal!) are contaminated with wheat-based whiskies. To me, those are yucky. If it is a Scotch labelled "Blended Malt", it should only contain malt whiskeys. E.g. "Monkey Shoulder" is a nice one.
I do not care much for the age, as long as it is at least ten years. I tried some 16 year old, but don't feel the higher price is fully justified by the difference in taste. (And yes, still talking about whisky!)
What does influence the taste is the casks in which they ripe. Triple-cask sherry-flavoured (old sherry casks are used, the whisky is transferred two times to fresh casks) can be really nice.
Registered IRC nick on chat.soylentnews.org: qkontinuum
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday February 06 2017, @01:43PM
Of course, the Japanese master distillers learnt their craft in Scotland, and are producing stuff which, at a blind tasting, which is all that matters, is as good as the real thing (I've mostly encountered ones in the Highland/Speyside genre, but I'm sure others are available). Alas, it's no cheaper than the real thing.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Monday February 06 2017, @03:25PM
Says it is a single malt on the Kilbeggan website [kilbeggandistillingcompany.com]. I'll give it a shot. Many Irish whiskies disappointed me in the past (Most contained wheat. It took me quite some time to figure out that this is apparently what ruined it for me. After I started checking for pure malt whisky, I rarely had any actual disappointments, but by then I also already stopped buying any Irish whiskies.)
Japanese: I agree. We bought one recently, and it's really great, although on the upper end of my usual price-range. I think it was from a Nikka [nikka.com] distillery, but don't have it at hand to check the exact product.
Registered IRC nick on chat.soylentnews.org: qkontinuum
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Monday February 06 2017, @04:14PM
I do not care much for the age, as long as it is at least ten years. I tried some 16 year old, but don't feel the higher price is fully justified by the difference in taste.
Age does different things to different whiskies. In general, it tends to "take the edge off" the harsher ones. If you're into real peaty Scotch, Laphroaig 10-year is quite the monster, but have it in a somewhat older version, and it mellows out a bit. Personally, if I'm drinking Laphroaig, I'm doing it because I want that shocking flavor, so I wouldn't generally pay for the older version. Generally speaking, you're right that stuff that's past 10 years is generally beyond the harsh notes of younger stuff (though even in younger stuff, the quarter-cask varieties of some whiskies speed up the aging a bit). A good master blender can get also balance out a lot of flavors with a 10-year+. (Yes, I know you're talking about single malt, but single malt is still frequently blended across casks/barrels from the same distillery to achieve a consistent and balanced product. That's why single barrel whiskies are often more of a gamble.)
Anyhow, my point here was to say that the difference between a 10-year-old and a 16+-year-old is going to vary significantly depending on distillery. In some cases, I think the flavor difference is really significant (and worth the price), in other cases it's not as much, and in a few cases (e.g., Laphroaig, as stated above), I actually prefer the younger version. But I do agree with you that sherry cask finishing is often a good thing.
(Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Monday February 06 2017, @08:14PM
If you're into real peaty Scotch, Laphroaig 10-year is quite the monster, but have it in a somewhat older version, and it mellows out a bit.
Laphroaig is actually the only single malt scotch I could name that I do not like :-) I'm a bit into peaty (Ardmore is very peaty, Ardbeg is also nice, Bowmore is good but imo a little less peaty). But somehow, Laphroaig has for me always a medical taste, like disinfectant. (I know it is a quality Whisky and has many fans, some of my colleagues among them...)
(Yes, I know you're talking about single malt,
Not only. I was specifically mentioning Monkey Shoulder as a good blended malt. Actually, I have a bottle in my mini-bar.
But I do agree with you that sherry cask finishing is often a good thing.
I have a nice bottle Macallan Fine Oak, triple cask matured, in front of me... ~80€ / 0.7l
Registered IRC nick on chat.soylentnews.org: qkontinuum
(Score: 2) by AthanasiusKircher on Tuesday February 07 2017, @06:45AM
Laphroaig isn't my drink of choice, either. It's a bit too much for me usually, though once in a while I like it for the contrast. I've never bought an entire bottle of it for myself.
The reason I brought it up, though, was because it's one of the scotches where I feel longer aging beyond 10 years makes the most difference. If you don't like the "medical taste" of Laphroaig (which is typically 10-year), try an older version sometime when you have a chance. (Don't buy a whole bottle -- find a friend who has it, or a really nice scotch bar.) I found the 18-year-old to be significantly different, without that almost overpowering harshness. But I think the 18 has become hard to find recently and replaced... with a 15 or 16? Anyhow, I haven't had the "new" older one, but I assume it will still be somewhat muted.
You mentioned Bowmore and also sherry casks -- have you had the "Bowmore Darkest," which is a 15-year-old released a few years back? I'd recommend it. It has more depth and peat than "normal" Bowmore, but still more balanced to my taste than some of the more "peat-monster" distilleries. It's been one of my favorites, which I happened upon completely by chance several years back.
(Score: 2) by q.kontinuum on Monday February 06 2017, @08:44AM
What does "shitfaced" mean? (Sorry, my urban English is apparently not that good.) Terribly drunk or terribly hung over? Terribly drunk is easy to solve: Drink less :-) (I don't drink whisky from a beer glass. Usually, the amount of Whisky is less then 1/8th of the amount of beer I would drink, therefore less overall alcohol.)
Hung over would make me ask, what whisky are you drinking. With single malt scotch I never had that problem.
Registered IRC nick on chat.soylentnews.org: qkontinuum
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 06 2017, @01:52PM
Shitfaced usually happens right after your memory for the night hangs up on the logfile.
(Score: 2) by lentilla on Tuesday February 07 2017, @05:23AM
"shitfaced": excessively inebriated.
Drunk as a skunk, pissed, plastered. Three sheets to the wind. Or; somewhat more politely; "rather jolly" or that most fabulous of phrases: "tired and emotional".
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Monday February 06 2017, @04:57AM
Brandy does not taste like vinegar. Brandy is not "aged wine" per se, but is distilled wine. I don't know what kind of bottom of the shelf crap you had, but you can get a bottle of Rémy Martin for a decent price. You can also make an apple brandy infusion [growitcookitcanit.com] to improve/change the taste.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Monday February 06 2017, @09:28AM
It's the opposite for me: vodka wine whiskey brandy = rum (with rum & brandy being my favorites).
Then again, I like tonic water as much as I like cola...
compiling...
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday February 06 2017, @01:33PM
My first positive brandy experience was a decade or so ago - we were just about to head off on a road trip with a work-mate, just as the company was dissolving the team, when the driver said "I have a nice bottle of brandy, let's crack it open to remember the good times", to which my immediate response was "don't waste good brandy on me, I'm a whisky person, and hate anything to do with wines". He ignored me, and I will admit that I got enough woodiness that the winey aspects didn't perturb me at all. I actually kinda liked it. Martell VSOP, I think (implying 7 years in oak), but perhaps it was Hennessey - either way a big and popular enough brand for me to be visually familiar with the bottle.
I still shy away from brandies, it's not generally worth the risk, with one exception - Armenian brandy. Sweeter and less harsh than French muck, but just as woody. I suspect neighbouring Caucasian states have their equivalents, and I'd definitely be prepared to give them a go too. A mate here raided his granddad's attic a few years back, and found some Armenian bottles from the 70s. Damn, that was gorgeous. Was probably 5 roubles (I dunno, 20c, or other play money) per bottle when new!
Anyway, I'm growing bored of whisky, and my new thing is Rum. /Old Monk/ from India is surprisingly good, but I'm currently infatuated with /Plantation Signiture Blend Barbados Rum/ with 5 Years in Bourbon and then Cognac casks. only 2/3 of the price of good whisky, but 3/2 times as enjoyable! Even cheaper /Plantation/ rums have been good, whisky's beginning to look like overpriced over-marketted nonsense to me now!
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 1) by purple_cobra on Monday February 13 2017, @06:46PM
There's also calvados (apple brandy), slivovitz (plum brandy), etc. Every fruit or vegetable in existence has probably been fermented by somebody somewhere who was in desperate need of escaping reality.
I've been trying to get Serbian slivovitz in the UK with no success; my grandfather was from there and I wanted to try it, but it seems the natives drink it all and don't export any.
In terms of a single malt, I bought a bottle of Aberfeldy 10 recently and it's very good. I'm not someone who could tell you about it's character or nose or whatever, but it is a a smooth, tasty single malt. A friend brought around a bottle of something highly-rated from the Whisky Bible, which I later found out to cost just under a hundred quid a bottle. Was it nice? Yes. 100 quid a bottle nice? Not to me, but taste is, of course, subjective.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday February 14 2017, @11:58AM
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Monday February 06 2017, @10:27PM
Yeah, though I do understand a good port, and some of the tawnies have that oakishness to them - I usually prefer rubies.
And, how can the researchers be "totally surprised?" What were they expecting when they performed the experiment, something awful?
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