From Mining.com, October 14:
Researchers at the University of Glasgow have found a way to use gold particles to measure the maturity of whisky, which could help distillers with one of the key challenges in the production process.
In a paper published in the journal Applied Nano Materials, the scientists explain that each variety of whisky gains some of its colour flavour profile from being stored in wooden casks while it matures over a period of months or years.
The flavour of the final product is created by a complex mix of factors known as ‘congeners’ – chemicals left in the spirit after it is distilled and other chemicals absorbed from the wood casks, which react with oxygen over time.
The unpredictable interactions of congeners, along with other factors like the size and shape of the cask and the number of times it has been used before, mean that each cask matures in its own way, and in its own time.
To ensure the consistency of their products, distillers employ highly experienced master blenders. They regularly sample the casks to check the whisky’s readiness for blending, bottling and sale as either a single malt or a mixed blend – a laborious and expensive task....
....MUCH MORE
The school's been around so long that if you start naming names, Glasgow U. can very likely say "That's one of ours" :
James Watt - yup, Lord Kelvin - indeedy, William Ramsay (noble gases Nobel Prize) you betcha, Adam Smith - but of course. In fact, looking just at those four it is a bit surprising they didn't figure out the gold - whisky thing a few hundred years ago
