Aging of Alcoholic Beverages Using Controlled Mechanically Induced Cavitation

Abstract

An extreme acceleration of the process of aging spirits to obtain aged liquors includes circulating the spirits through a cavitation zone within a controlled cavitation reactor and exposing the spirits therein to high energy cavitation induced shockwaves. Sources of flavor and color such as charred wood chips may be added to the spirits to provide the color and flavor of liquors aged for years in traditional charred oak barrels. The method and apparatus of the present invention obtains the same conversion of undesirable alcohols, flavor extraction, and color as years of aging in an oak barrel but does so in a matter of minutes or hours. The apparatus and method also can be used in conjunction with traditional aging techniques and methods and the total aging time is still reduced dramatically.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of aging an alcoholic beverage to produce an aged beverage, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) obtaining a volume of alcoholic beverage to be aged; and   (b) subjecting the alcoholic beverage, to cavitation within a cavitation zone of a controlled cavitation reactor.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein step (b) comprises circulating the alcoholic beverage through the cavitation zone two or more times. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the step of introducing additives to the alcoholic beverage prior to step (b). 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the additives comprise wood chips. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  further comprising charring the wood chips prior to introducing them to the distilled spirits. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3  wherein the additives comprise flavorings. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the step of at least partially aging the alcoholic beverage in a vessel prior to step (b). 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the vessel comprises a charred barrel. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the step of at least partially aging the alcoholic beverage in a vessel following step (b). 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9  wherein the vessel comprises a charred barrel. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the step following step (b) of cooling the alcoholic beverage in a heat exchanger. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the alcoholic beverage comprises distilled spirits. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the alcoholic beverage comprises beer. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  further comprising adding hops to the beer prior to step (b). 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the alcoholic beverage comprises wine. 
     
     
         16 . A method of aging an alcoholic beverage to produce an aged alcoholic beverage, the method comprising the steps of:
 (a) collecting the alcoholic beverage in a reservoir tank;   (b) pumping the alcoholic beverage from the reservoir tank to a controlled cavitation reactor having a cavitation zone;   (c) passing the alcoholic beverage through the cavitation zone of the controlled cavitation reactor to break down undesirable components in the alcoholic beverage normally broken down by time in an aging vessel to produce an aged alcoholic beverage;   (d) moving the aged alcoholic beverage back to the reservoir tank; and   (e) optionally repeating steps (b) through (d) to expose the aged alcoholic beverage to cavitation within the cavitation zone a predetermined number of times to age the alcoholic beverage further; and   (f) collecting the aged alcoholic beverage.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising the step of introducing additives into the alcoholic beverage prior to step (c). 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17  wherein the additives comprise wood chips. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  further comprising the step of charring the wood chips prior to introducing them into the alcoholic beverage. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16  further comprising the step prior to step (a) of partially aging the alcoholic beverage in an aging vessel. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20  wherein the aging vessel comprises a charred wood barrel. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 12  further comprising the step following step (f) of storing the collected aged alcoholic beverage in an aging vessel for a predetermined period of time. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22  wherein the aging vessel comprises a charred wooden barrel. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 16  wherein the alcoholic beverage comprises a distilled spirit, beer, or wine.