Disruptive technology may change the whisk(e)y industry

IT IS HARD to imagine a manufacturing process more sluggish than making whiskies. The most revered are aged for between 10 and 20 years. Innovation has also been slow. The last big breakthrough, patented in 1830, was a more efficient still. Barrel-ageing, which takes place after distillation, has been around for centuries. Without it the liquid has no colour and is unpalatable. Nor can it be called whisky under Scottish law. Because whisky (or whiskey as it is known in Johnny-come-lately jurisdi...