Drinks dispenser flavours spirits at home

by Owen Bellwood

Spanish tech company Smart Spirits has created an at-home drinks dispenser that mimics a coffee machine and can transform neutral grain spirit (NGS) into a beverage with whisky, gin or rum flavours.

The Smart Spirits Drink Dispenser uses its 'Taste Of' flavour capsules, similar to coffee machine pods, to transform the flavour of NGS to replicate whisky, gin and a range of liqueurs. Flavour pods available for the dispenser include those developed to transform NGS into a coffee liqueur, Irish cream, single malt whisky, spiced gold rum, gin and a host of flavoured vodkas. The dispenser can also be filled with water to allow drinkers to control the alcoholic strength of their creations. Imbibers can combine water and NGS to create ‘spirits’ ranging from 0% abv to 40% abv. Ian Smart, co-founder of Smart Spirits, said: "Smart Spirits taps into the desire of the increasingly sophisticated and tech savvy consumer to have control of the alcohol in their drinks, at the same time also choice and convenience.” The dispenser also features built-in bluetooth connectivity allowing imbibers to pair the dispenser with their phone, which can be used to control the machine. Created by drinks and tech experts Ian Smart and his brother Mark, the Smart Spirits Drink Dispenser will launch in the UK and will roll out across the US and Europe later in 2019.