Stu Aaron and Martin Janousek, founders, Bespoken Spirits

How would you describe the business of Bespoken Spirits?

Stu: I always tell people that our company is a cross between 23andMe, Nespresso and Impossible Foods. We’re like 23andMe because there’s a major data element to what we do. We map the spirit genome, if you will. Then there’s the Nespresso component, because we’ve essentially created a machine which is an industrial scale rather than kitchen scale, but it’s a machine where you can put in the spirit and a “pod” of our wood that’s been treated, then you press a button and, in a few days, out pops this custom spirit. And we’re like Impossible Foods because we’re taking an industry that is steeped in a lot of tradition and we’re bringing science and sustainability to it in a positive way that may not appeal to everyone—but it’s evolving. That’s the same type of thing we’re expecting to see here.

The next generation of tastemakers is attracted to novel and more complex flavors. Is this the audience you’re catering to?

Stu: For our branded products, our consumer is a modern, tech-savvy, environmentally conscious consumer. Our sweet spot is with people who want variety, value, authenticity, purpose and sustainability in their spirit.

Martin Janousek: Unlike my father’s generation—he would drink one type of whiskey and always drink that one—today’s generation is different. They would try one whiskey and then they ask, “what is next, what else is out there?”. They want to explore. This is where we come in.

Can you explain how Bespoken Spirits’ aging process manipulates flavors?

Martin: By controlling every input variable, we are able to use the same base spirit and create very different types of whiskey in three to five days. We have close to 20 billion different recipes that we can explore, by changing how we treat the wood, how we toast it, how we char it, how much of it we use. We create these recipes on 3-4 ounces of liquid and then the customer can select whatever recipe they like.

We can use combinations that no one else can use. For example, we can mix and match different types of wood and control how we char and how we toast. You cannot mix different types of wood using the traditional barrel method because different wood expands differently, and it could leak.

Taking modern technologies to change a process in an industry that is very traditional, some would call you disruptive…

Stu: From day one it was about disrupting the industry, but it was about disrupting it for the better. A lot of technology and companies coming out of Silicon Valley are about tearing down an industry, but we actually found an industry that has lots of challenges—lots of economic, time and sustainability challenges and lots of challenges that stunt creativity.

[In the spirits] industry, before a product gets to market, 20% of the product is typically lost in “angel share” (the spirit that has evaporated as it ages). In any other industry, that would be preposterous, but this industry has accepted that. That’s why I think we’re so timely. We’re helping economically, we’re helping with sustainability, we’re helping with customer intimacy. They’re all big values for the industry.