Hypothesis-Free Sensor Array Discriminates Whiskies for Brand, Age, and Taste

[Foreshot]

http://www.cell.com/chem/fulltext/S2451-9294(17)30174-2

A whisky sensor based on a dye-replacement assay has been reported by Anslyn et al.1 The age of different whiskies was determined by detection of the concentration of gallate and other phenolic species, the concentration of which increases with age. However, the most common way to discriminate whiskies is to use mass spectrometry,2, 3, 4 but simple quantitative UV-visible (UV-vis)5 or mid-infrared (IR) spectroscopy6 have also been used with reasonable success, but with less than spectacular discriminative power.