Stirling Distillery has two years to figure it out. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Scotland's smallest whisky distillery also hopes to be one of the most innovative in time for its first batch's debut. But with only around two years until Sterling Distillery's inaugural liquor matures, it remains to be seen if the company can ditch traditional glass bottles for a material associated more with cheap beer than fine whisky--aluminum. Any serious distillery uses glass bottles for the good stuff.

The Bourbon Industry Is in Turmoil. Could Tech Provide the Shot It Needs? The software-driven approach pioneered by a new Kentucky distillery runs counter to the low-tech methods of whiskey's old guard. Its mix of data and automation might help pave a way forward. Kendra Skeeters, a warehouse operator at Whiskey House, works the barrel-filling stations at the company's facility in Elizabethtown, Kentucky.Photograph: LEANDRO LOZADA Save this storyIn case you missed it, the American whiskey industry is seemingly in free fall. The once untouchable bourbon business has seen many big brands abruptly retreating, with sales of Bulleit down 7 percent and Wild Turkey down 8 percent in the first half of this year.

Ewan Morgan, National Luxury Ambassador and Head of Whisky Outreach at Diageo North America, told Fox News Digital how SmokeDNAi technology is being used to understand the aging process of whisky. For two years, Diageo analyzed various Scotch whiskies using AI and algorithms. Diageo, an alcohol beverage company, invested 230 million into a portfolio of whisky tourism projects. Of this lump sum, more than 44 million was dedicated to the exploration of whisky maturation using technology called SmokeDNAi. Using SmokeDNAi, teams tested and analyzed the flavor profiles and mouthfeel of non-identical twin whiskies distilled in different casks – one remnant and one original.

Good data--and lots of it--is key to making artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) production, inspection and packaging systems work without a hitch, plus well written algorithms to analyze the data and make decisions that will help people and machines function more intelligently. In fact, 3-D vision systems are usually the "eyes" robots use to guide them as they sort and package products or load pallets--3-D because it provides much more data to make intelligent decisions quickly. Processors are keenly interested in getting their products perfect before packaging, and AI/ML can play a part in production monitoring. "I think we will begin seeing a lot more utilization of AI/ML to improve product quality and consistency," says Jason Prince, Golden State Foods director of operations, protein products. "For instance, adjusting product pressure automatically to achieve a very specific product thickness or weight, given a set of ever-changing variables such as product temperature and density. This would ensure that the finished product is consistent over time, despite changing raw material characteristics. Adjustments will be able to be made in near real time and eliminate the time required for a quality check to be completed and then an operator adjustment to be made."

It may have been created with the help of AI. Mackmyra, an award-winning Swedish distillery, has launched Intelligens, the world's first whisky created using an artificial intelligence program. Mackmyra partnered with Finnish technology company Fourkind to develop an AI system that augments and automates some of the tasks of the distillery's master blender, who is responsible for whisky flavor and product development. Master blenders spend their time meticulously tasting and experimenting to create the best flavors possible, and that process can be time-consuming. Mackmyra wanted machine learning to work its magic in sifting through massive amounts of data to find new combinations.

It may have been created with the help of AI. Mackmyra, an award-winning Swedish distillery, has launched Intelligens, the world's first whisky created using an artificial intelligence program. Mackmyra partnered with Finnish technology company Fourkind to develop an AI system that augments and automates some of the tasks of the distillery's master blender, who is responsible for whisky flavor and product development. Master blenders spend their time meticulously tasting and experimenting to create the best flavors possible, and that process can be time-consuming. Mackmyra wanted machine learning to work its magic in sifting through massive amounts of data to find new combinations.

It may have been created with the help of AI. Mackmyra, an award-winning Swedish distillery, has launched Intelligens, the world's first whisky created using an artificial intelligence program. Mackmyra partnered with Finnish technology company Fourkind to develop an AI system that augments and automates some of the tasks of the distillery's master blender, who is responsible for whisky flavor and product development. Master blenders spend their time meticulously tasting and experimenting to create the best flavors possible, and that process can be time-consuming. Mackmyra wanted machine learning to work its magic in sifting through massive amounts of data to find new combinations.

The use of AI-driven processes to increase efficiency in the F&B market is no longer an anomaly. A host of breweries and distilleries have incorporated the technology to not only develop flavour profiles faster, but also for other functions, including packaging, marketing, as well as to ensure they meet all food-safety regulations. Although the intention is not to find a replacement for the brewmaster/distiller, it becomes a thrilling learning experiment that equips them with multiple data points that could help them come up with innovative ideas. The company claims to be the world's first to use AI algorithms and machine learning to create innovative beers that adapt to users' taste preferences. Based on customer feedback, the recipe for their brews goes through multiple iterations to generate various combinations.

Would you drink a whisky designed and created by artificial intelligence? This fall, this hypothetical question becomes a reality, as popular award-winning Swedish whisky distillery Mackmyra releases the first ever whisky, a single malt, designed with machine learning. Working in collaboration with Microsoft and Fourkind, a Finnish technology consultancy specializing in AI spearhead projects, the distillery has made the claim that this is the first ever machine-learning designed complex consumer product recipe. I for one, welcome the chance to try a whisky created by our robot overlords. The distillery's machine learning models running off of Microsoft's Azure Cloud Computing platform and AI cognitive services will be fed raw data related to whisky production (including malting, fermentation, distillation, and maturation), Mackmyra's historical recipes, sales numbers, and customer preferences.

Good whisky takes a while to make. It doesn't seem that complicated on the surface (grain, water, yeast, voilà) until you consider just how many different types of grains can affect the whisky's taste. It's why master blenders take months, if not years, messing with the ingredients in their mashbills--and that's all before they begin to age the distillate. Legally, whisky must sit in oak casks for at least three years. It's during that maturation process where the magic really happens, as the right kind of wood can completely transform the whisky's flavors, smell, and color.