whiskey lovers all over the world claim the key to the perfect bourbon is time but a catastrophic shortage of whiskey could soon be on the way with anecdotal reports suggesting the demand for bourbon is about to outstrip supply now, some distillers have taken heed of the warnings and are coming up with radical new ways to mature whiskey to its full potential faster than ever before whiskey lovers all over the world will tell you the key to the perfect bourbon is time but a catastrophic shortage of whiskey could soon be the way with anecdotal reports suggesting the demand for bourbon is about to outstrip supply  according to a report by tasha eichensehert in nautilus, the popularity of bourbon last year saw 19 million cases sold, generating $27 billion in revenue she claims that through a series of inventive ageing methods, manufacturers have been able to cut the two to 20 year process into just days and months the ageing of whiskey usually takes place in 200 litres (53 american gallons) barrels made from seasoned american white oak, quercus alba these barrels are charred, breaking down the lignin in the wood into compounds called aldehydes adding alcohol to the barrel causes oxidation which transforms the aldehydes into acids changes in heat within the barrel then give whiskey its complex flavour through a series of inventive ageing methods, manufacturers have been able to cut the two to 20 year process whiskey ageing process into just days and months  nautilus reports that tuthilltown spirits in gardiner, new york   the makers of hudson baby bourbon – are now letting the alcohol settle in 2  to 5 gallon oak barrels this, they say, increases the alcohol to barrel surface ratio, causing the whiskey to mature faster, cutting the time down to around four months meanwhile copper fox distillery in virginia is adding toasted oak chips their barrel, in another attempt to increase the alcohol to surface ratio one distillery in south carolina claims it has cut the process down to just eight hours terressentia, near charleston, first filters the whiskey in plastic tanks there are concerns that pubs could become a thing of the past as thousands close each year due to spiralling production costs but a new machine could help landlords feeling the pinch, because it can produce pints that cost just 35 pence (53 cents) each the truebrew technobrewery  can make 280 pints of beer in just two hours at the touch of a button a similar size to an industrial oven, the machine is intended for business use and will cost around £25,000 ($38,000) the machine allows landlords to brew their own beer for a quarter of the price of buying it in from a brewery the machine is filled it with water, and then ingredients including hops are placed inside it's then switched on for two hours the machine is self cleaning and the beer is ready to drink seven days later this speeds up the aldehyde and acid reaction creating chemical compounds that can be consumed in a matter of hours entrepreneurs have also created home tools for people to fake the taste of aged whisky a wooden tool called 'whiskey element,' which claims to be able to make cheap liquor taste expensive in just 24 hours the oak sticks are specially designed to 'age' the drink by filtering out impurities and infusing the whiskey with a more woody flavour similar to pricier tipples the sticks have lots of grooves cut in them to increase the overall surface area touching the liquid they are intended to be placed in a bottle or decanter of cheap whiskey to replicate the taste of a more expensive tipple whether or not these fast bourbon's live up to the taste test remains to be seen the sticks (pictured) have lots of grooves cut in them to increase the overall surface area touching the liquidthey are intended to be placed in a bottle or decanter of cheap whiskey to replicate the taste of a more expensive bottle the oak is cut horizontally to allow ‘accelerated transpiration through capillary action'
eight hours south carolina first just four months tuthilltown spirits 2 gallon barrels
tuthilltown spirits is now letting the alcohol settle in 2 gallon barrels  this, they say, cuts the time to mature the drink to just four months  distillery in south carolina claims it has cut the process to eight hours  they first filter the whiskey to speed up the aldehyde and acid reaction 