48 Accelerated maturation

Accelerated maturation

Why wait years to sample aged liquor when it is possible in a matter of days?

Bespoken Spirits aims to upend the slow, wasteful and antiquated spirits industry with a sustainable new maturation process. Leveraging modern technology, material science and data analytics, the Californian company meticulously tailors the aroma, color and taste of craft spirits in under a week— the traditional whiskey maturation process takes years.

The accelerated process has over 20 billion different recipes and is shaking up the global spirits market, which is expected to grow in value from just over $143 billion in 2020 to nearly $209 billion in 2025, according to Research & Markets. “From day one it was about disrupting the industry, but it was about disrupting it for the better,” Stu Aaron, who cofounded Bespoken Spirits with Martin Janousek, tells Wunderman Thompson Intelligence. New York-based biodesign company Kingdom Supercultures aims to use science to speed up the fermentation process in plant-based food, beverages, and natural consumer goods. Founded in 2020 by Kendall Dabaghi and Ravi Sheth, the startup has already created new flavors of sauce that have been snapped up by Michelin-starred restaurants including Eleven Madison Park and Gramercy Tavern, and in October 2021 the company received $25 million in Series A funding.

“From day one it was about disrupting the industry, but it was about disrupting it for the better.”

Why it’s interesting Time-consuming processes such as alcohol maturation and food fermentation are being upended by startups with ambitions to economize on time and output, as well as explore new taste frontiers.