With Derby Day, the Kentucky Derby, just around the corner, it's time to think about big hats, horses with one eye, and...chemistry.
No, no, just kidding. Well, sort of. The chemistry of bourbon anyway. While it's not as good as proper whisky, it has its fans and we don't want the world to think we have any sort of Gaelic bias, so the upstarts in the colonies can have their day here also.
Patch. Link and credit: Pat McDonogh, Courier-Journal
The latest episode of Reactions celebrates the chemical process of distillation that makes bourbon and other whiskey varieties possible. Since water and ethanol, along with tasty flavors, have different boiling points, they can be separated by carefully heating the mash that starts off every whiskey. Each distillery carefully protects their still design, engineered to create their signature liquor. The strongest flavors take aging, but might some innovative whiskey makers find a way to hack maturation time?
There's a barrel-full of chemistry in this video about whiskey. Take a look: