This Artificial Tongue Can Identify Counterfeit Whisky

Scientists at the University of Glasgow recently revealed that they had created an artificial tongue that can tell the slight difference among several types of whiskeys.

According to their maker, the tongue can even distinguish whiskeys from the same brand but aged in different barrels, boasting a whooping accuracy rate of more than 99%. They can even tell whiskeys aged 18, 15, and 12 years apart.

The technology behind this tongue can make out lots of chemicals mixed in a complex blend, thus making it a powerful tool for quality control and fight off the counterfeit alcohol trade.

According to Alasdair Clark, Biomedical Engineering Lecturer of the University of Glasgow's School of Engineering, the technology is called artificial tongue because it acts in the same way as a human tongue. The tool cannot create a list of all the chemicals that make orange juice tastes differently from tea, but it can distinguish the difference between them.

To conduct the test, researchers pour whiskey over a chequerboard pattern consisting of aluminum and gold. What they do next is to measure how these tastebuds absorb light when they are submerged in whiskey. The changes in colors are recorded to make a profile of each sample test.

The artificial tongue’s makers said that the practical application for the tool is wide. It can be used for quality control, security, food safety, and of course, in the fight against counterfeit alcohols.

Last year, Rare Whisky 101, a valuation and consultancy service found out that 21 over 55 bottles of rare Scotch were fake. Had they been genuine, they could have been priced at around $775,000 (roughly Rs. 55,728,000) in total.

Annabel Meikle, director of a whiskey experts association, Keepers of the Quaich, believes that the technology would be welcomed. Someone like Meikle can definitely identify the real whiskey from fake ones but the artificial tongue can spare them a large number of routine checkings.