Is INSTANT WHISKEY a Beautiful Lie? | Ultrasonic “Aging” Experiments

Rapidly aging a delicious whisk(e)y is a dream of distillers around the world. Currently, there are several evolving technologies attempting to instantly age alcohol, but are the results amazing - a nightmare - or something in between? In this episode we get down and dirty with a simple Ultrasonic "Rapid Aging" experiment with 16 different samples in an ultrasonic cleaner. Just a bit of science with a sprinkle of glory to get the ball rolling - cuz there's a lot to explore here.
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Want more ultrasonic aging experiments? Check out this episode from The Thought Emporium where he experiments with ultrasonic "aging" and a bunch of non-whiskey things. • Instantly Age Alcohol ...
outro song by, DJ Quads - Millionaire

[@LeatherDaddy97]

Brianna is the final piece of the puzzle, we need her as a mainstay.

[@Zelmel]

She's great! Wasn't she a "whisky noob" not long ago?

[@LeatherDaddy97]

@@Zelmel yes she was. But she has become the chosen one

[@dungeonmasterv]

She did mooch the decanter after all. 🤣

[@thevictorianconservative1093]

But she needs to keep that innocence about everything! thats gonna be a helluva trick though, especially after a while

[@mateodonderis2455]

Agreed

[@michaelo5665]

Briana's quiet "for the right price" comment had me giggling. She low-key stole the episode from you this time Rex.

[@Mugwart1]

Haha! Yes, totally! :)

[@biscuitninja]

I said...,"that's not my fetish..." a little too loud and in public.... .... -_-

[@dysojerr]

I totally agree 🤣

[@dickymain8604]

I can't find it? Where in the video XD

[@saint-cetacean]

Loved two things about this video: 1) Rex ranting 2) Brianna. Just everything about her. Absolutely makes every video she's in

[@taterskins1033]

Brianna makes me feel more at home with her input because, as a true noob, her assessments are a bit more relatable to me than either Rex’s or Daniel’s

[@jimglass5892]

So true, I have followed their best picks and unfortunately found that their flavor pallet is far far from mine.

[@bonolio]

Well Rex used to be the noob, so there was that dynamic. But Rex's fungfu has grown. I think Brianna would definitely add back that Master\Apprentice aspect to the show. (Plus I am low key kind of crushing on her a bit)

[@ksspang]

@@bonolio that's definitely the boat I'm in too

[@RecklessFables]

She's relatable.

[@Ian_P]

Little does she know that she is being unconsciously trained in the art of becoming whiskey connoisseur for the distillery.

[@johnmcelwain5884]

Taste this leads to blending and field rep in time

[@TMHonfire102]

Thumbs up for Briana in the video!

[@Ryansrangereport]

Whoa look who the fuck it is lol.

[@TMHonfire102]

@@Ryansrangereport yea I lurk around a little lol

[@Ryansrangereport]

@@TMHonfire102 do you still have your HK45 ? I think that’s a random gun we both had at the same time. Is cokeman still alive ?

[@TMHonfire102]

@@Ryansrangereport yes he is alive and kicking, I still have mine and it has been 100% all this many years later.

[@johnfowler3873]

AND with the Rhinegeist t-shirt!

[@EvanCurrie]

"The best kind of Whiskey is the Whiskey you like to drink..." "I kind of like this one." "You're fired." lol

[@poptarts5730]

He's threatened

[@DaMapleMoose]

He said it so fast

[@macmasks]

I love that the Mooch is converting and training a new mooch. Love Brianna.

[@robertnichols4223]

Brianna is the perfect balance between Rex and Daniel. She needs to be in more episodes. Plus it's great to have her palate as a different reference point.

[@thevictorianconservative1093]

Came for whiskey, stayed for Brianna. She is so darling!

[@RyanStonedonCanadianGaming]

"That taste like lube"

[@LeatherDaddy97]

@@RyanStonedonCanadianGaming i think she said glue

[@ethanwpope99]

Ryan StonedOnCanadianGaming Definitely said Glue lol Still funny nonetheless

[@GaviLazan]

I guess you hear what you want to hear 😂

[@Tunkkis]

@@LeatherDaddy97 Yes, hence Daniel's response of "Yeah, rubber".

[@HollywoodFTW]

Brianna is a great addition to these tastings. Also, the editing is great.

[@billyclinton1885]

"I don't think anything's supposed to taste like that" LOL Brianna's the best

[@rogerpingleton9199]

Oh my god I laughed so hard when she said that!! Perfect ending!

[@KillCoWhiskeyMusings]

Has anyone else noticed that Rex has a habit of doing what a toddler might do if they had a credit card and what can only be called childlike curiosity about what happens to things when mixed together?

[@kjcorder]

He's making potions!

[@joshuaprice7306]

Rex reads comments..... Brianna appears. We see you Rex

[@Zelmel]

I love Brianna's take as someone apparently much less experienced with whisk(e)y than you guys. The "tastes like cake just put in the oven" thing immediately clicked with me as someone who both loves whisk(e)y and bakes a lot.

[@naterunyon5608]

It just wouldn’t be a tribe video if it didn’t end with Rex’s hysterical laughter. I love it.

[@CynicalStorm]

s/o to Briana for repping the Rhinegeist.

[@XRarehunterX]

@@robschoenung9543 was wondering the same thing haha

[@CaptainTrivia]

I'm from Dayton but was wondering the same thing

[@blahblahsen1142]

"what's this last one, it's very Earthy?" "that is my urine sample, fun fact, still 50 proof by volume."

[@TheStoutbeard]

Mooch in training at the table

[@Tetchreon]

"Campfire Vodka" I can kind of see some interesting mixed drink ideas for this. I'd give a bottle or two a shot.

[@chrismcdaniel6035]

I always get a good laugh when she is on. "I think she out did us!" "get better"

[@ALLCAPSRAGE10]

Brianna's angle on tastings is a welcome addition, I think you guys should have her in more tasting videos

[@MrNoochie7312]

Rex knew damn well what he was doing bringing Briana back on! I saw her in the thumbnail and clicked the link:) ! She needs at least one appearance per week...or 2!

[@Athiril]

I got a rapid aging technique for you - you guys mentioned that the climate of Texas causes the liquid to move in and out of the wood more - so put the barrel on a heating and cooling cycle, while also pressuring it as it heats and depressurise as it cools. Magnetic stir bar in the barrel, or otherwise rolling/agitating the barrel for several minutes now and then should cut down the age time

[@DerpyRedneck]

That's actually a brilliant series of experiments!

[@richardsaucier9823]

Brianna's facial expressions and the way she blends in with you two is priceless. Well done

[@brendanhorman884]

YESSS gurl, hit em with that Palo Santo! While wearing the Rhinegeist shirt! Beer people can be whisk(e)y people too!

[@blug407]

I use ultrasonic methods in some of my research as a way of ensuring that my solution can penetrate carbon samples that I generate from wood. My knowledge on it, at least, is that the ultrasonic bath helps break up colloids and particle mixtures, and may also help diffusion of the liquid into pore and diffusion out of the pores of the carbon. The same would likely go for the wood, so it’s interesting to see. We do find that on top of sonication we have to leave the sample overnight as the diffusion into the pores of our carbon is quite a slow process that likely isn’t enhanced by sonication, though I’m not a pro there. On temperature, you could see better mass transfer (transfer of solute from wood to spirit) at higher temp I think as the kinetics would probably improve though I’m not sure - thermodynamics might get weird. This is really cool to see that it actually has some impact though, great experiment!

[@keithworrell8171]

Does that mean you would have some effect of speeding up reactions with white spirits (no wood) to overcome bottle shock?

[@blug407]

@@keithworrell8171 eh, possibly? It’s really hard to say. From what I know (not much I’m more a wine person than a spirit person), bottle shock is mainly an oxidation thing but it’s pretty gradual. Sonication might more easily introduce oxygen to the liquid, and may encourage some more reaction that way, but I don’t think it would be quite enough. And if it was, you might overdo it. Hard to know, I mostly use sonicators nowadays to clean stubborn glassware before I haul out harsh chemicals. Works wonders there especially if the material is hydrophobic.

[@cmarshmellow]

Awesome video! That’s actually really cool how the machine thinned out the audio

[@tickletaguchi4211]

Put an opened soda in the ultrasonic cleaner it is like the mentos experiment

[@jarednaicker6727]

Loving the channel, so glad I've stumbled onto it! Not sure if it's been suggested before, but to try freeze drying whiskies to see if any flavors get left behind and the difference in flavors between non alcoholic whiskies and their alcoholic counterparts. Keep up the great work!

[@DhumacKata]

It would be interesting if you ran the same experiment but let the ultrasonics run for 1 day vs 1 week vs 1 month.

[@mavrickmike16]

Dhugal Mac then put the best tasting ones in a small barrel to finish them off

[@adaymadaday7283]

Bruh, i think, if you overdo it, its gonna be a woodchip juice.

[@1NDYC3NT]

@@adaymadaday7283 don't know if we don't try

[@canadianwhiskysmith6453]

Obviously, Daniel hasn't told his Aerosmith story often enough in the last year 😄

[@ericnix4396]

20:33 I laughed so hard my children thought I was hurting somehow 😂🤣😭

[@anonymousdevildog1406]

I'll always love how you two bring in her to be a third voice. Love you guys - but I'm new to all of this. Its nice to have a newer person perspective that isn't as experienced as you guys. I really want to try this at home.

[@timothydahlman1158]

I also forgot to add that I am a new member. I very much apprciate that you all experiment so much with things like this. It is magnificent.

[@bluegrassboy2448]

I used to be shy in describing tasting and nose notes in whiskey, fearing I was saying the wrong thing. I'm glad Brianna has been included, for her style and unfiltered descriptors have given me confidence to say what I think I smell or taste and know I can't be wrong.

[@rosscarballo3162]

Rex once again showing that he can be well-spoken and responsible when he needs to be, but that just makes the shenanigans all the sweeter 😆 Honestly, though the experiments were super interesting, and I hope to see you try more things, rapid aging or otherwise

[@donselman2123]

This was great! Definitely one of my favorites. Science and shenanigans! Brianna is a delight!

[@kavyabhatt4441]

*Briana mooching the Canter in the end* Everyone in the Whiskey Tribe : "The Mooch is Strong with this one." 😂 Awesome video 🙌🥃

[@jek__]

Good science! Good controlling of your variables and discussion of the effects. And it's an example from people who know what they're doing on how to do this yourself, without being explicitly instructional. The camera cuts and facial zoom is a little much, but the information quality is top notch

[@wolftheshade7946]

Great video! just subbed. I have an interest in ultrasonic aging. One idea is to ultrasonic age it for longer for a taste that might be more similar to regular aging. Freshly toasting/charring might also help. Different alcohols might have different interactions just from different things used to make the alcohol and different flavored alcohols or added different flavors like fruit during the ultrasonic may also do something too. Also love that wolf poster!

[@stillcrazy4023]

Came for the whiskey. Hung with the boys. Stayed for Brianna.

[@Sleepwalkyr]

I appreciate displaying all three "OH" faces in the thumbnail 👍🏽 Great video too. Love the chemistry as usual!

[@libertyts]

A true laugh out loud, missus coming in asking "What the hell are you watching" episode. Loved it. I too had the same question at the start of the tastings, "What is Brianna doing here for this one?" By the end, she definitely belonged and value-added. Daniel giving the dad advice quietly in the background was beautiful. A really fun, engaging team, keep it up all!

[@drjeckel6209]

I love your whiskey videos, y'all crack me up while completely filling me with curiosity and knowledge. Also, I love that Briana is wearing a Rhinegeist shirt, as they are local to me here in Cincinnati.

[@canadianwhiskysmith6453]

One of my local distilleries does a tiered aging. We have to age 3 years in Canada, so to help speed up oaking, they start everything in a baby barrel for a year. For year two, they bump it up to a mid-sized barrel. Then for year three, they combine to full-sized barrels. Gives things an interesting dynamic 🙂

[@jackfrost2978]

I love that you guys did this test and report. I would recommend try sonic and sub sonic aging. And mixtures of all 3. Ultra sonic may work faster but I was expecting it to not have as great of an effect or for it to be dramatically harsher. I think sonic and sub sonic may take longer but give better end results. And still take far less time then traditional methods.

[@loupsrecoverysvc]

You three work very well together on your videos. Bravo!

[@derricksanders7714]

My father was always big into whiskey but i never cared much for alcohol in general . I bought a few for him recently and gave them a shot. (Lagavulin 16, Elijah Craig small batch, Blue Label and a few more JW's. along with some other brands. At the same time I watched your videos and and fell in love with the culture. Your videos are great and genuinely make me laugh. Your dynamic is fantastic. I'm planning some tastings and virtual tastings with some friends now. Thank you for the great content and reviews

[@ApparitionFVT]

Hey y’all, new subscriber here and new member of the whiskey tribe. I’m SUPER new to the whiskey world and because of your vids (love them btw) I have decided to start my journey. Stopped at the store today and wanted to try a sweet scotch to begin. I asked the girl working for a cheap option in the 20 to 30 dollar range and she helped me ultimately choose Speyburn single malt scotch - Braden Orach. She said it was a 10 yr., come to find out the Braden Orach is actually a no age disclaimer (although they do have another type that is a 10 yr., maybe she was mixing them up). I will be sipping tonight (both without and with a dash of water) but hope I didn’t make a terrible choice for my first scotch. Hope for some replies from anyone on other options for the future, feedback, etc. Glad to be a member of the tribe 😊

[@JDs_RandomHandle]

I've been wanting to try this for a while and I would love to see if your results are similar to mine. Try fast aging with the same wood and sample mixture but place it in the fridge for a few hours then pull it out for a few hours and keep repeating for a week. Compare that to just leaving it on the counter.

[@doublewhisk]

She's awesome bring her back

[@SanskarWagley]

Hope you guys do the experiment of proofing down via evaporation you mentioned in a recent Vault episode

[@gavinm9507]

This triple act is awesome! Also nice editing 👌

[@blah007001]

When I went to Fort Leonard Wood for basic training, ZZ Top did an MWR concert there, and the band that opened for them was Bowling for Soup. So they do indeed allow frosted tips on their stage.

[@blah007001]

@@windowdoog I didn't get it, I was in Basic. Leonard Wood got it.

[@calmsea1604]

This is classic! We need more of this trio.

[@deanuemura8061]

Rex may fancy himself as “ice lord”, but has revealed his kryptonite to be wood and plastic bags...

[@Josh___d___G]

Got gifted my first bottle of whiskey for my 18th... so doing all my homework before opening it... and a little bit of extra... man I love these guys vids!

[@maltymission]

SCIENCE! If they’d be doing this in chemistry class back in highschool, I’d be a straight A student. Brianna has all the traits of the wizard apprentice, looking, listening, learning, agreeing and preparing to take over control when ready. I like her 😁

[@olep.4156]

Briana! She is once again such a good addition. Great video, and then she is the cherry on top. I kind of want to have a go at this being a trio, if the dynamics work out should this continue to happen.

[@kjcorder]

Is been 8 months and she's been in several tasting videos. Still feel the same? I do, she's great

[@whyidontwant2723]

She is there Danial because we love her and the tribe demanded it.

[@kjcorder]

8 months later and she's on all the time! I love it

[@Fishbone8891]

Smooth Ambler is amazing, I tried it one time at a bar because it had an elephant a I've never seen it before. Boy was I excited to taste it, it was so damn good! Highly recommend it if you can find it.

[@Natural_Encounters]

I’m really curious about this camp fire vodka... hopefully when I make my spring/summer trip I can pick some up! If it’s a thing by then lol

[@jamwheeler]

Daniel whispering "pace yourself" lol wise words of advise 9:43

[@MrJones-bg4sz]

LoL 😆 good catch.

[@theoptimisticmetalhead7787]

Brianna is THE BEST. Definitely gotta be in more stuff. She cracks me up. I love when she disagrees, that blast of confidence from her, "y'all are dumb, this is what I'm getting."

[@lukek.5773]

how did i miss this? i tagged you guys in a post on the FB page with this idea, so glad ya'll got around to it

[@bigjoe8109]

Laphroig quarter cask is an example of the extreme flavours you can get from smaller barrels!

[@ExUSSailor]

I use oak chips in my mead. The last time I aged a batch over toasted oak chips, it gave my mead a wonderful bourbon-like flavor, and, color. I boiled the oak chips first, and, added them after fermentation, so, they were just part of the aging process. I think I left them in for about 3 months.

[@drjota1984]

Awesome video. Make Briana your regular Noob taster for this weird experiments. She brings humor, and a more casual imput. I'd dare to say you are the holy trinity of whisky videos in the Whiskey tribe: The Som, The Mooch and the Noob.

[@AllanYacaman]

Sooo Good! Briana's always fun to watch with her funny faces ;D

[@bryansesco9671]

Brianna was hilarious ! Thanks for the entertainment. When the fog machine was fumigating she could of quoted Wizard of Oz, "I'm melting!" But you guys got her tanked, she's fortunate to have lived!

[@Cynycal]

She's so good with you guys, takes the whole thing to the next level.

[@justnos]

Brianna with the Rhinegeist Brewery T-Shirt from Cincinnati, OH. I used to live a mile from that brewery and it's awesome to see how far they have traveled!

[@clithero1]

I am having to keep shut one eye to even read or type in the comments after that video, excellent whiskey tasting video guys! Briana is awesome!

[@jefflaird5067]

I feel like scotch could be sonic aged for like 10 minutes just to get the color so they don't have to use food dye

[@EB-xl6db]

When it comes to music, depends what I'm drinking and the mood I want to achieve. Metal, irish folk or punk, old punk, country, viking metal. All depends. Favorite sing alongs in my group would be Óró Sé do Bheatha Bhaile or Come Out Ye Black and Tans.

[@mojitojones2592]

I think this method of "aging" really has a lot of promise. Obviously nothing will beat patience and the normal aging process, but think of all the experiments that could be done with sonic aging. Rex only did two time frames with an arbitrary amount of wood. If a distillery really wanted to do this, they could test different wood to spirit ratios, a bunch of different time frames, using multiple types of wood, etc. I can see there being a lot of ways to expand on the flavors they were getting, and these experiments can be done in high quantity in a short amount of time. Then they could do what Daniel said and combine it with aging in small barrels. This video really caused me to nerd out, thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[@Amocoru]

I've been subbed to this channel for so long and I can't remember the last time a video actually showed up in my feed. I came here to make sure I was still subscribed and I was. Realized the last video I saw was a month ago. Wtf KZbin.

[@kjcorder]

How has that changed in 8 months?

[@marioszlatinis7520]

I have used and ultrasonic cleaner in various experiments concerning both wood and botanical extraction, and one thing you also have to take into account is that even if you don’t turn up the heat, heat progressively builds up due to cavitation, so it’s hard to define extraction parameters and compare results with precision. But it does works really well for some applications. Oh, and don’t dip your fingers in the bath when it’s running 😂

[@butwhy3213]

ouuuh i saw a video about this ageing technique yesterday and you guys do a video on it the next day damn.

[@MrJaneails22x]

Briana is an excellent addition.

[@Dinie09]

I remember a video from NileRed like 2-3yrs ago I think on ultrasonic aging. Interesting stuff.

[@sovietdies]

I think you're remembering The Thought Emporium's video. Iont think that NileRed made a video on it, but he was in the video as a taste tester.

[@Dinie09]

@@sovietdies I think you're right, I just remember his voice in it

[@zyxsborja914]

Daniel - "half the things in existence he doesnt like" LOL, seems true. I've noticed how daniels right shoulder moves upward every time he taste whisky and tries to explain or describes something. He had the nerdy part of the review taken care off. Rex - game for everything which makes the channel exciting. He provides shenanigans which makes the channel funny. Join them together makes an awesome channel!!!!!!

[@Sean-uh6te]

I’m trying to understand Texas whiskey style more so I can enjoy it. How is it that the hot Texas weather can pull lots of barrel flavor in a short time, but still have that harsh flavor of alcohol that is typically found in young whiskey? It seems Texas whiskey matures quicker in some ways but not in others? Is there a catch 22 in Texas whiskey aging? I love your channel, Thank you!

[@jamiecoppedge8279]

Why not add a light ultrasonic device to vibrate the flavors out of an actual barrel, to help speed the aging of that barrel, just strapped to the side or top? Maybe only set it to run for a 1 hour interval every few hours, so it's not overdoing it....first thoughts I had after watching this video, maybe you might give them a try, and let me know how it turns out if you do. Great video guys.

[@douglasmacdougal5477]

LOL at 10:50 when Brianna is trying to get every last drop out of the glass...

[@Office_Zombie]

My question is, what happens when you age it in a barrel for a year with and hour of sonic everyday during that year? Does it get more of a multiple year age in that time or does it stay basically the same? I ask this because you are still giving time for it to soak while still getting some of the sonic vibration taking off the surface wood.

[@winterburden]

Brianna can quietly take over this channel, wouldn't be mad.

[@allan010101]

Loved watching Brianna learn from the masters. I would watch your backs guys.

[@jeremiahleak9371]

Hello from Cincinnati! Love the Rhinegeist shirt.

[@toddellner5283]

It's not just ultrasonics. I have a whole bunch of old distillery manuals. These technologies were around back in the late 19th/early 20th centuries. Oxygenation, heat cycling, so on and so forth. They just weren't economical on a commercial scale. I've seen some analyses of speed-aged whiskies vs. traditionally aged ones. Over the years the profiles have gotten closer and closer. The big hurdle the latest patented method has is that it's gotten a lot more esterification than the older technologies

[@photogonfire]

Shout out from Cincinnati! I dig the Rhinegeist t-shirt Briana is wearing... "Cincy Made"

[@TheHawkeyeful]

Love the Rhinegeist rep, Briana!

[@shitmultiverse1404]

"this is unaged..." "so is this why it's so light in color?" "...this has not been aged at all" "ooooooooooooooh" megabrain

[@Quartermaster_77]

Briana, your skills impress me!

[@zzzetsulive]

the old "whats that over there?!" perfect brianna

[@SomebodysVincent]

Very interesting! I wonder if wine will behave in the same way?

[@danrickard1911]

Best tasting vid yet. Soo much fun.

[@kellysalyer1972]

For 5 years when I used to work in Saudi Arabia, I would take fresh made sugar shine and "age" it on Jack Daniels whiskey barrel wood chips for a week to 2 weeks. I would leave it on my kitchen counter on the eastern side of my apartment so It would be exposed to heat early in the day and would be at a cooler room temp as the sun moved west. It wasn't real whiskey but it wasn't half bad.

[@deniselias5405]

Pretty cool try! I have read on the homedistiller forum that, Gin in that case, should age for 5 weeks. They stated that you can speed that up by ultra sonic and that an hour round about equals 2 days of aging. In this case with the Gin they only mentioned the first two days of aging. I would be really interested in what would happen if you just put the new make into the ultra sound for a day or two. I have a peated run today. After that I will try the ultra sonic without wood and the wood to new make surface ration of a big barrel in ultra sonic for a day or two. If you are interested how it came out, let me know :)