Lost Spirits Technology LLC (Lost Spirits) said the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has awarded the company two key patents governing its revolutionary distilled spirits maturation process.
The patents describe processes for maturing distilled spirits involving heat driven esterification and photocatalytic polymer degradation of oak barrel staves. Lost Spirits has shown that its patented process creates chemical reactions in distilled spirits similar to those that take place in oak barrels over the course of decades.
Bryan Davis, the inventor named on both patents, has published data demonstrating that the new technology can nearly identically match the chemical signature of a 20-year-old rum, but do so in under a week’s time.
The awarding of these patents enables Lost Spirits to commercialize, protect and further develop its revolutionary technology. This includes designing and marketing unique matured spirits that are impossible to produce via conventional spirits-making techniques — in effect creating a new spirits growth platform.
First applied successfully to rum, Lost Spirits’ technology has since been proven effective in other spirits categories. Utilizing its patented process and associated THEA reactor, Lost Spirits Distillery recently released its “Abomination” line of whiskies*. Abomination whiskies benefit from combining Islay spirit with charred and toasted oak staves seasoned with California late harvest Riesling. These unique whiskies have received a stellar critical reception.