Microsoft AI creates its own single malt whisky

Microsoft has partnered with AI company Fourkind and Mackmyra Whisky to craft the world’s first AI-created single malt whisky.

The golden-yellow whisky is described as “fruity and oaky, slightly salty, and with a dryish end”.

"We believe that whisky is AI-generated, but human curated," says Angela D'Orazio, Master Blender @mackmyra. Read more here: https://t.co/MphdDrokTu #AI #AIWhisky pic.twitter.com/yabu9i7Q9O

— Microsoft Europe (@MSEurope) May 13, 2019

Based in Sweden, Mackmyra’s distillery is powered by Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, which generates its own blends and flavour profiles based on Mackmyra data. According to Microsoft, this includes “existing recipes… sales data, and customer preferences,” which can be used to create over 70 million high-quality whisky recipes that might be “popular”.

In the words of Mackmyra’s Master Blender, Angela D’Orazio, “it is a great achievement to be able to say that I’m now also a mentor for the first ever created AI whisky in the world”.

 

 

 

 

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? ? We're beyond proud to deliver the following news: Together with @microsoft and @fourkindnow we are now launching the world’s first whisky developed with artificial intelligence (AI)! This is the first time that AI has been used to augment and automate the most time-consuming process of whisky creation. What do you say friends, have we arrived to the future now? Read more at Mackmyra.se or Mackmyra.com #microsoft #fourkindnow #ai #artificialintelligence #mackmyra #whisky #mackmyrawhisky #singlemalt #explorersinwhisky #gin #sweden #sverige #distillery #drinkresponsibly #labdistillery

A post shared by Mackmyra Swedish Whisky (@mackmyrawhisky) on May 9, 2019 at 7:14am PDT

Whisky connoisseurs (or really any fine booze enthusiast) might sniff at the prospect of technology entering such a traditional industry, as AI-powered culinary experiments can get really, uh, interesting, especially when it comes to flavour combinations. After all, machines don’t have taste buds… yet.

Considering how finicky it is to create a great batch of whisky — including the time and patience required for whisky to distill and mature — this is a fascinating (and pretty risky) endeavour. One must also take into account the types of casks available, the length of distillation time, and human error.

 

 

 

 

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? ? Utilizing AI is not only faster than a person carrying out the process manually, but thanks to the algorithm’s ability to sift through and calculate a vast amount of data, new and innovative combinations that would otherwise never have been considered can be found. #mackmyra #ai #artificialintelligence #whisky #mackmyrawhisky #singlemalt #explorersinwhisky #gin #sweden #sverige #distillery #drinkresponsibly #labdistillery

A post shared by Mackmyra Swedish Whisky (@mackmyrawhisky) on May 11, 2019 at 4:48am PDT

Fourkind’s Jarno Kartela, however, is optimistic about the future of AI-curated consumables.

“I envision AI systems generating recipes for sweets, perfumes, beverages, and maybe even sneaker designs… these new AI solutions can be used to generate products that retain the spirit, look and feel of the brands behind them, while at the same time being new and unique,” he enthused.

Mackmyra’s AI-powered whisky will be released some time in August… we’ll just have to figure out how to get our thirsty robot hands on a bottle outside Europe.

 

alexisong@asiaone.com