A robot nose that can sniff out cheap whisky being fobbed off as the good stuff could revolutionise the industry.
Scientists have developed the sensitive, hi-tech electronic schnozz to help experts get it right every time.
With small fortunes at stake as rare bottles can fetch six figure sums at auction, the NOS.E can tell the difference between expensive and run-of-the-mill spirits.
Developed by the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia, in trials the prototype was able to spot differences between six whiskies by their brand names, regions, and styles in less than four minutes.
Tests used samples of three blended malts and three single malt whiskIEs, including Johnnie Walker red and black label, Ardberg, Chivas Regal and a Macallan’s 12-year-old whisky.
The study found the e-nose had 100% accuracy for detecting the region, 96.15% accuracy for brand name and 92.31% accuracy for style.
Associate Professor Steven Su who led the research said: “Up until now, detecting the differences between whiskies has required either a trained whisky connoisseur, who might still get it wrong.
“Or complex and time-consuming chemical analysis by scientists in a lab.”
The study published in science journal IEEE Sensors revealed the e-nose can mimic the human sense of smell using eight sensors to detect the aroma in a vial of whisky.
The sensors generate signals unique to the different odour molecules and send the data to a computer for analysis where a machine with “a learning algorithm” is trained to recognise the spirit’s characteristics in a process that takes a matter of minutes.
Scientists say the same technology can be used to prevent the sale of counterfeit wine and perfume as well as detect illegal animal parts such as black rhino horns being sold on the black market.
Prof Su said: “To have a rapid, easy to use, real-time assessment of whisky to identify the quality, and uncover any adulteration or fraud, could be very beneficial for both high-end wholesalers and purchasers.”
