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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Bourbon or Scotch? A droplet’s dynamics reveal the truth

A whisky’s country of origin can be gleaned from the residue of an evaporated droplet.
Different whiskey web patterns by brand.

When a droplet of American whisky evaporates, it leaves a residue that differs among brands such as Four Roses (upper left) and Woodford Reserve Double Oak (bottom right). Credit: Stuart J. Williams, Martin Brown VI, Adam Carrithers

American whiskies that evaporate off a surface leave distinctive, web-like patterns that distinguish them from Scotch whisky and from each other.

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Nature 575, 10 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-03333-6

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